Source: Telegraph
Gianfranco Zola hails West Ham spirit after dogged point
Having taken the lead through Mark Noble, the game's only moment of real quality, West Ham, whose front three of David Di Michele, Luis Boa Morte and Diego Tristan were dreadful, conceded to Keith Andrews five minutes after the break but managed to withstand incredible pressure to cling on. [LNB]"They put so many bodies in the box, so many big bodies, it is difficult," the West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola said. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League action[LNB]Latest standings and statistics[LNB]Fixtures and results[LNB]Sam Allardyce hails Chris Samba's aerial prowess for Blackburn[LNB]West Ham's Valon Behrami ruled out for six months[LNB]West Ham suffer on as Watford dump Gianfranco Zola's team out of the Carling Cup[LNB]"They create confusion, keep booming balls in there so it is not easy for anybody and my team was excellent." [LNB]The visitors took the lead after 34 minutes when Noble won the ball in his own half and ran 60 yards down the right before touches from Boa Morte, who Sam Allardyce complained was offside, and Tristan returned the ball to Noble, who swept the ball inside the far post with the outside of his foot. [LNB]Blackburn drew level when the half-time substitute Andrews drove into the corner of the net after Herita Ilunga failed to clear Morten Gamst Pedersen's long throw with a convincing header. [LNB]El Hadji Diouf had two efforts ruled out and Blackburn remain deep in relegation trouble but Allardyce felt West Ham's goal should have been ruled out. [LNB]He said: "We're in a very difficult position and can't afford to have these major decisions go against us." [LNB]
