Premier League
West Ham United 0-1 Manchester United 

Sunday, 8th February 2009
by John Simkin

The newspaper reports of the game against Manchester United will do doubt be dominated by the activities of their aging stars. The 35-year-old Ryan Giggs will rightly be praised for scoring in every Premier League season since the competition's inaugural campaign of 1992-93. Edwin van der Sar will also dominant the headlines with his 13th consecutive clean sheet in the league that sets a new British record.



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Player Ratings

Robert Green
Good reaction save when Scholes shot that was going wide was diverted by Ronaldo. Had no chance with Giggs?EUR(TM) goal.


Lucas Neill
Nearly 25% of his passes went astray but did manage to get two shots on target.


Herita Ilunga
His reputation goes before him and Giggs and Ronaldo spent their time working on Neill?EUR(TM)s failings.


James Collins
Managed to get in the way of most things thrown at him.


Matthew Upson
with Collins kept Berbatov and Tevez fairly quiet.


Scott Parker
Exemplary game except for the failed tackle against Giggs that led to the goal.


Mark Noble
Lovely pass to Cole offered West Ham best chance of scoring. However, overall, his passing was not up to his normal standard with a 25% failure-rate.


Jack Collison
Doubled-up with Illunga against Giggs and still found time to help the attack.


Valon Behrami
Another all-action performance who provided excellent cover for Neill. The danger of Ronaldo meant he could make few forages upfield.


Carlton Cole
Closely marked by Ferdinand and Vidic but held the ball up well and posed the only real threat to the opposition.


David Di Michele
Could never really get into the game and provided poor support for Cole.



Substitutes

Savio Nsereko
(Replaced Noble, 77 mins) No comments.


Diego Tristan
(Replaced Behrami, 87 mins) No comments.


Jan Lastuvka
Did not play.


Jonathan Spector
Did not play.


Radoslav Kovac
Did not play.


Luis Boa Morte
Did not play.


Fred Sears
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Robert Green, Lucas Neill, Herita Ilunga, James Collins, Matthew Upson, Scott Parker, Mark Noble, Jack Collison, Valon Behrami, Carlton Cole, David Di Michele.

Goals: None                   .

Booked: Lucas Neill 58          .

Sent off: None.

Manchester United: Van Der Sar, Rafinha, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Giggs, Berbatov, Tevez.

Subs not used: Foster, da Silva, Eckersley, Fletcher, Nani, Welbeck.

Goals: Giggs (62).

Booked: Vidic (59).

Sent off: None.

Referee: Phil Dowd.

Attendance: 34,958.

Man of the Match: Scott Parker.