West Ham 3 Fulham 1: Cole fire roars Hammers on, so who needs Bellamy?

19 January 2009 09:46
In form: Cole (right) wheels away after his fifth goal in five games puts West Ham 3-1 up   More... West Ham 3 Fulham 1: The action as it happened Zola power: Gianfranco's a happy Hammer despite off-field problems Fulham owner Al-Fayed labels Manchester City's£100m pursuit of Kaka as 'madness' WEST HAM UNITED FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB FULHAM FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB 'I will have the money to spend on a replacement and we are looking,' said Zola. 'It is important the situation is dealt with as soon as possible. 'He wants another experience. He wants to go to another club where he thinks he might get something better. He is a human being and sometimes this happens. I accept that. I respect his wishes.' West Ham value Bellamy at£15m but are determined not to sell to Tottenham because they believe their London rivals are responsible for unsettling the player. This makes Manchester City favourites for his signature. City are due at Upton Park on March 1, so it could be a lively atmosphere that day. Happy Hammers: Vehron Behrami (left) and Matthew Upson (right) mob Mark Noble after the midfielder converted his 60th minute penalty False dawn: Fulham players celebrate with Paul Konchesky (second left) after his wonder strike pulled the Cottagers level Zola will miss Bellamy's pace but that wasn't a factor thanks to Fulham's error prone defence. It was the first Premier League game of 2009 for Roy Hodgson's team and they started as though emerging from hibernation. John Pantsil was half asleep when he tried to turn Lucas Neill's cross back to Mark Schwarzer with his chest in the seventh minute. The ball dropped well short and Di Michele nipped in, skipped past the goalkeeper and rolled in his first goal since September. Di Michele, on loan from Torino, scored twice against Newcastle on his debut but a four-month goal drought disproved theories that he might be the new Paolo di Canio. His early strike put West Ham in control until Paul Konchesky's screamer ripped into the top corner of Rob Green's net from 30 yards after 22 minutes. Perfect start: Di Michele (second left) beats Mark Schwarzer (left) to give West Ham an early lead Konchesky seemed as shocked as everyone else when it flew in. It was his first goal since scoring for West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup Final but the glory was shortlived. Fifteen minutes into the second half and he was the culprit, dithering on the ball in defence and allowing Cole to steal possession and charge into the box. Konchesky gave chase and chopped Cole down from behind. It was a clear penalty although the defender escaped with a booking. HAVE YOUR SAY: SHOULD KONCHESKY HAVE SEEN RED? Post your views in the comments box below... Noble kept his cool from the spot, the Hammers grew in confidence and Fulham crumbled to their first defeat in 11 games. Crash landing: Paul Konchesky fouls Carlton Cole to gift West Ham a penalty HAVE YOUR SAY: SHOULD KONCHESKY HAVE SEEN RED? Post your views in the comments box below... Spot on: Mark Noble confidently made sure West ham's first penalty in the league in over a year was easily converted Cole grabbed the goal his outstanding display deserved, drifting clear of Brede Hangeland to collect Di Michele's neat pass with 14 minutes left on the clock and slide a calm finish past Schwarzer. Victory lifts Zola's team up to eighth, well above any of the teams Bellamy might join. With 29 points it is tempting to suggest their Premier League status is safe for another year but let's not be rash. Not until the authorities have finished handing out the punishments for the Carlos Tevez affair.   GRAHAM POLL: The Official Line When Carlton Cole raced away from Paul Konchesky it certainly seemed like a goalscoring opportunity. Konchesky chased back as the 'last man' and brought Cole down for a simple penalty decision for referee Phil Dowd. The crowd wanted a red card for the ex-Hammer so why didn't Dowd dismiss Konchesky? Well, the law states that the player who is denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity must be heading towards goal and makes no reference to 'last man'. Cole was heading for the junction of the goal area and goal line, six yards wide of goal, so Dowd was right to let Konchesky stay on the field. HAVE YOUR SAY: SHOULD KONCHESKY HAVE SEEN RED? Post your views in the comments box below...   More... West Ham 3 Fulham 1: The action as it happened Zola power: Gianfranco's a happy Hammer despite off-field problems Fulham owner Al-Fayed labels Manchester City's£100m pursuit of Kaka as 'madness' WEST HAM UNITED FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB FULHAM FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB  

Source: Daily_Mail