West Ham 1-1 CHELSEA: Another Opportunity Missed?

Yet again we failed to take our opportunities in the first half and ended up scrapping for a point.….sound familiar? Wasteful.

We started well enough, with a Lampard shot (yes, he obviously had a compass in his pocket yesterday) stinging the keepers hands just over five minutes in. But it was clear West Ham had come to give us a game, with plenty of argy-bargy and a physical encounter looked to be in the offing, particularly if the Hammers’ initial attempts to get up close and personal with Kalou in the box were anything to go by.

We didn’t have a bad first half though, in fact considering the Hammers seemed to have the distinct advantage of using both hands and feet, we were the one’s piling all the pressure on – we just had a touch of amnesia once it got past the pressure stage. Our defence again showed it’s uglier head, with confusion reigning between JT and Cech, Carvalho hacking from behind and Ashley Cole giving away a penalty all before half-time.

Petr Cech, who actually had a better game than of late, was as consistent as ever when it came to the penalty though – diving the wrong way to see West Ham go in a goal to the good at the break.  Mind you, Dean somehow found 4 minutes to add on before that break came although no doubt had trouble actually seeing his watch if the blatant penalty he’d failed to spot for us was anything to go by. Still, we did eventually go in a goal down, with the home support celebrating as if they’d taken three points already.

Ancelotti didn’t hang about making changes, bringing Sturridge on for Kalou and Mikel on for Malouda after the break – obviously didn’t want either of them to embarrass themselves any more than they already had.

The second half saw more of West Ham’s determination and work rate although Didier Drogba did wake up briefly to chase a lost cause walloped up the field, not only getting hold of it but almost converting it into what would have been one of the goals of the season. Carvalho decided to test Cech’s nerves with a slightly enthusiastic backpass and fortunately our keeper’s nerves stood that particular test.

Michael Ballack, who’d played like a man in dire need of enforced rest, looked as if a sniper had duly obliged although Mike Dean (who by the way, wouldn’t know a free-kick if it bit him on the arse) clearly gave the German less than 5 out of ten for artistic impression. And just when I was busy venting my spleen on that exact subject, Dean finally gave us a decision – albeit one the linesman had got completely wrong. Sturridge, who was causing West Ham a few problems since his arrival went down under a fair challenge from Upson and Frank Lampard got the opportunity to remind Mark Hughes just how much bottle he has from the spot. Well, he got three opportunities to be precise, with the jobsworth with the whistle unhappy to see so much company in the box.

The equaliser seemed to wake us up a bit – with the exception of Ballack who looked about ready to put his teeth in the jar – how he stayed on was a complete mystery. We still looked off the pace though, with the sort of passing you could only forgive if you were watching the under 11s. Our only saving grace was the substitutions, with Sturridge and Zhirkov (on for a tired looking Joe Cole) both looking lively – the latter going close with five minutes left on the clock.

West Ham had their chances as the clock ticked away too and how they didn’t get a penalty with Ricardo Carvalho all but throwing Franco to the floor in the box was anyone’s guess. Having said that, since Green had done his best to dislocate Kalou’s shoulder in the first 45, it can only be assumed Dean isn’t averse to the odd physical challenge. Didn’t seem to do Franco any harm either, with the West Ham man only failing to finish us off because Cech was having one of his better days.

3 minutes added and everything but the kitchen sink thrown at the game – ok, so I exaggerate, it was actually bottles the home support was throwing in Frank Lampard’s direction, not that his performance warranted the Lucozade on offer but there you are.

So, a disappointing performance and not the sort of game that’ll have our rivals anything to worry about, yet again guilty of not taking our chances. And whilst some will point to Essien’s absence as a factor, I’d have to say it was Nicolas Anelka’s injury that had a bigger effect on this game. Ironically, after all the questions around whether they could play together, Didier Drogba looked seriously out of sorts without him.

What’s more worrying though is that if we hadn’t been gifted a dodgy penalty, we might not even have got a point from this one. And whilst United’s players will slowly start coming back from injury, it won’t be long before ours are of to ACON – somehow, when it’s us dropping points, I can’t see them giving us such an easy ride.