Source: Telegraph
West Ham United 0 Stoke City 1: match report
Ricardo Fuller recovered from a bout of food poisoning to leave West Ham United looking decidedly sick, as Gianfranco Zola's side edged closer to the relegation zone. [LNB]Fuller scored a superb solo goal in the 69th minute for Stoke City after coming on as a substitute, to ensure a sixth successive defeat for the Hammers. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tableSullivan sorry for 'pathetic' West HamWest Ham United v Stoke City: match previewPremier League fixturesWest Ham 1 Wolves 3Sport on televisionHull City's 2-0 defeat of Fulham moved Iain Dowie's side level on points with West Ham, who remain outside the relegation zone only on goal difference. [LNB]It was another poor day for Zola, who appears to be getting closer to the exit door despite his defiant words in the match-day programme. [LNB]David Sullivan and David Gold, the club's joint owners, have been sending mixed messages of support for Zola, and whether the Italian is still in charge by the time West Ham travel to Everton next Sunday will be a matter of intense speculation. [LNB]Zola apologised for West Ham's performance in their 3-1 defeat by Wolves on Tuesday, and he made changes to the side against Stoke. Mido came into attack and the Egyptian had the best chance of a poor first-half to open the scoring. Carlton Cole cut in from the right and unleashed a powerful shot that Thomas Sorensen could not hold, and it fell to Mido barely ten yards from goal. But he failed to control the ball and the chance went begging. [LNB]Earlier, Cole had been put though on goal twice by Scott Parker, easily West Ham's best player once again. The first time, in the 26th minute, Cole was tackled by Rory Delap as he prepared to shoot, and six minutes later the England forward was foiled by Sorensen, who stood up to him and forced Cole to run the ball out of play. [LNB]Cole then turned provider, flicking Robert Green's long kick on for Kieron Dyer, whose volley thudded into Robert Huth's chest. [LNB]At the other end, Stoke had their chances too, mostly from set-pieces. Even though West Ham had installed a second set of advertising boards close to the touchline, presumably with the intention of disrupting Delap's long throws, the Stoke midfielder still managed to launch several of his trademark throws into the danger area. [LNB]Corners caused confusion and panic in the West Ham defence, too, and from one early set-play, Abdoulaye Faye had a shot cleared by Mido. The Stoke captain then headed a good chance wide from another corner, before being replaced because of an ankle injury. Danny Higginbotham also headed wide from a good position as Stoke grew in confidence, while West Ham became increasingly jittery. Dave Kitson ran through but shot straight at da Silva, before also going off injured early in the second half. [LNB]And when Etherington joined him back in the dugout after 66 minutes, Fuller made his entrance - to devastating effect. Within three minutes, he received a long ball out of defence with his back to the West Ham goal. Turning smartly past Parker, he danced his way into the penalty area from the left, skipped past \Manuel da Costa and then turned inside Matthew Upson before shooting past Green from close range. Stoke's supporters celebrated noisily, while there was a deathly hush around the rest of the stadium. [LNB]In desperate need of a goal, Zola sent on strikers Benni MCcCarthy and Ilan but they made little impact and it was Stoke who went closest to scoring again, when Tuncay's long shot was spilled by Green, with Mamady Sidibe unable to poke the loose ball home. [LNB]There was a late flurry of activity in the Stoke penalty area in the closing minutes, but nothing to trouble them unduly and their supporters celebrated long and loud at the final whistle, convinced their side are safe for another season. [LNB]But the same cannot be said of West Ham or Zola. [LNB]
