WEST HAM 1, MIDDLESBROUGH 1
New boy Herita Ilunga is a happy Hammer
THIS was the tale of two goalscorers: the one who wants to get away and another who turned cartwheels when he signed a 4½-year deal to stay.
Stewart Downing was ordered to stick it out at Boro until the summer at least when long-term suitors Tottenham will surely finally bag him in a £15million deal.
Herita Ilunga has just turned his season-long loan from Toulouse into a permanent move and friends say the Congo international is still smiling about it.
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This boy simply loves the Premier League and now the left-back has stamped his size 10s on the FA Cup with a late equaliser to keep the Hammers in the draw.
Home fans had already suffered the shock of seeing leading scorer Carlton Cole limp off after 34 minutes with a twisted ankle.
Then they were treated to some appalling finishing - notably from David Di Michele and sub Diego Tristan - and all looked lost until Illunga stooped to conquer by heading in Savio's 83rd-minute free-kick after Gary O'Neil had handled.
It was almost a copy of Downing's 22nd-minute far post opener, when O'Neil's free-kick deceived Matthew Upson and James Collins before bouncing to the unmarked England winger.
The penalty area resembled the troubled Antiguan cricket pitch and maybe the sand caused the bobbles that accompanied both goals.
Certainly Downing was not bothered. Fresh from another uninspired display with England in Spain, he played behind front-runner Afonso Alves and found enough space to lead West Ham a merry dance.
Add to that a couple of decent shots that tested Robert Green and this was a job well done. About time, some might say, for this was Downing's first goal of the season. Still, he bossed this entertaining if technically inept game in which the forwards simply weren't firing.
Add to that the incessant booing of Luis Boa Morte by his own fans and you get the picture . . . not quite the magic of the cup.
Missed chances affected both sides. Three times in the second half Alves could have sealed the tie but did nothing to improve his questionable reputation.
At the other end, West Ham's sheer grit forced a host of golden openings but they went begging. Tristan should have done better than toe-poke at the excellent Brad Jones after squeezing past two defenders. And Di Michele somehow ballooned over the bar from Ilunga's inviting low cross.
Tristan had also fired over before the break and Jones' brilliant save from Collins did not help West Ham either. But for Middlesbrough this result was a vast improvement on 13 league games without a win.
They looked cohesive and spirited, and if they play like this consistently they won't go down. They are in serious danger of making the sixth round for the third successive year and boss Gareth Southgate always insists their cup form inspires league victories.
He is nothing if not inventive and has recently introduced yoga as an intensive training method, while some players enjoyed a touch of reflexology last week. It must have worked. They had their toes tickled and they certainly stretched the Hammers.
This article has 1 comment
total west ham supporter since Bobby Moore days whats the best way to get a eicket and a hotel
By nialldaly . Posted February 15 2009 at 1:00 PM.