Sam Allardyce had mused after West Ham United’s Capital One Cup quarter-final win at Tottenham Hotspur, in the knowledge that it would be Manchester City next, that the competition’s format had a flaw. “It is a shame,” the West Ham manager said, “that the semi-final cannot be over one leg.” He suggested that West Ham might have a chance if that one-off tie were at Upton Park.
The events here did little to strengthen the hypothesis. Yes, this semi-final was already over, after the mauling that City handed out in the first leg but the manner in which they strolled to victory suggested that they would be happy to play West Ham whenever and wherever.
City looked sharp, even as they played within themselves and the only question, from the moment that Álvaro Negredo nodded them into an early lead, was the number of goals that they would deign to score, how severely they would punish West Ham.
An utter rout appeared to be on but City settled on three, making nine overall, with Sergio Agüero, who returned to the starting XI, and Negredo, again, doing the damage. The strikers were in remorseless mood and they were helped by a thrusting performance from the 18-year-old Brazilian-born Portuguese winger Marcos Lopes.
City’s confidence is overflowing and they will surely hope that Manchester United, rather than Sunderland, emerge from the other semi-final to be the opposition in the Wembley final on 2 March. City took their goal tally for the season to 106 in all competitions. They are unbeaten in 18 matches. And, most tantalising of all, they remain in contention for all four trophies.
“I’m proud,” Manuel Pellegrini, the manager, said. “We are the only team still in all four. I have never been to Wembley as a manager, so it is special. We just want to continue with our ambition.”
Gallows humour framed this occasion. West Ham boasted only one hat-trick in the team and that was Roger Johnson with his three relegations. Forget City’s quest for the quadruple. The defender is on for his own version. A local bookmaker advertised the return on a 7-0 West Ham win in his window beforehand: the keys to the shop.
“Being realistic,” Allardyce wrote in his programme notes, with glorious understatement, “we are unlikely to overturn our first-leg deficit.” West Ham, and only West Ham, had been in this situation before. In 1990 they crashed to a then League Cup semi-final record 6-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic. A line for the historians: they won the return leg 3-0.
The West Ham nightmare continued after two minutes and 36 seconds and Allardyce was left to rage at the lack of marking that presented Negredo with a free header in front of goal.
Perhaps it was Agüero’s presence inside the area that brought on James Tomkins’ brain-fade. Either way, it was negligent in the extreme of the West Ham centre-half to drift away from Negredo and he headed Lopes’s left-wing cross beyond the exposed Jussi Jaaskelainen.
The attendance was recorded at 14,390 but with tickets still pricey, the real surprise was that so many turned up for such a hopeless cause. There was no cup fever, only angst from Allardyce, which deepened with the losses through injury of Joe Cole and Mohamed Diamé. Cole tweaked a groin and Diamé departed on a stretcher in the last minute after banging his knee.
Allardyce said Diamé’s problem might not be as bad as it looked but the frustration was everywhere. Allardyce urgently wants reinforcements for the quest to hit his target of 22 points from the remaining 16 Premier League matches to dodge relegation but he seems to be hitting brick walls.
“I would not have a clue,” he said, when asked about the prospects of January purchases. “Every time I get a signing, somebody else takes him.” West Ham were close to a deal for Monaco’s Lacina Traoré – Allardyce even attended the work permit hearing – but the striker is now bound for Everton. Other players have turned down West Ham, including Everton’s John Heitinga.
City’s second came after another burst from Lopes. The ball broke to Agüero, who did not look the favourite to get past Razvan Rat and Matt Taylor but he did, due to hapless defending. He tapped past Jaaskelainen as though on the training ground. Agüero had earlier been denied from a distance by the goalkeeper.
Allardyce got 45 minutes out of Andy Carroll, on the striker’s first start of the season, and he put himself about, particularly in the air. Kevin Nolan, back from a four-match ban, had the ball in the net on six minutes only to be correctly pulled back for offside.
West Ham sought the most hollow of consolations in the second half and there were flashes from Ravel Morrison of his touch and mazy dribbling. He had two decent appeals for penalties overlooked and the substitute Carlton Cole twice went close.
Yet the evening was summed up by Diamé running at Carlton Cole inside the City area and neither player changing directions and, shortly afterwards, Negredo running in between Johnson and Taylor as though they did not exist before stretching to scoop past Jaaskelainen.
“Nine-nil in your cup final,” taunted the City fans. West Ham wanted to raise confidence and restore pride. They failed.
- Capital One Cup
- West Ham United
- Manchester City
David Hytner
theguardian.com