Reading 0 West Ham Utd 3

  • by Matthew O'Greel
  • Saturday, 1st September 2007

The Hammers cruised to victory at Reading this afternoon thanks to a second half brace from Matthew Etherington.

Etherington struck twice after the break to ensure a comfortable win for the Hammers, who had made the perfect start thanks to Craig Bellamy's sixth minute opener.

The win - West Ham's most comprehensive in the league since Wigan suffered the same fate as Reading at the tail end of last season - was the perfect answer to a sea of criticism from supporters underwhelmed by the transfer window arrivals.

Ironically perhaps only three of today's starting eleven were Curbishley signings - new boys Henri Camara and Nobby Solano failed to register in time to play today, whilst Scott Parker, Freddy Ljungberg, Kieron Dyer, Nigel Quashie and Julien Faubert were all unavailable due to injury.

A further two Curbishley signings - Richard Wright and Luis Boa Morte - were fit to play, but left on the bench. However it was another two Curbishley captures - Lucas Neill and Craig Bellamy - who teamed up to produce the first goal of the afternoon, when a long clearance from the captain found Bellamy who finished with some aplomb.

The Hammers took that slender lead into the break, and didn't have to wait long for a second to arrive thereafter. Bellamy, always a handful found Etherington on the edge of the penalty box and the rejuvenated winger drove the ball fiercely into the top corner to double the lead.

The home side - who were a shadow of the team that triumphed 6-0 in this very fixture only eight months ago - had an opportunity to claw their way back into the game on 75 minutes when Rob Green was penalised for hauling down Dave Kitson inside the box.

But the England candidate (or at least he should be) reacted brilliantly to avert Doyle's well-placed spot kick wide of the post and preserve United's 2-0 lead. Whether Steve McClaren was taking note remains to be seen.

The Hammers completed the rout in the fourth minute of injury time when Etherington - who had earlier missed a one-on-one, leading to suggestions from the away supporters that the former Spurs man may have had a few quid on a 2-0 win - made no such mistake, rounding Hahnemann in the Reading goal to make it 3-0.

All in all it was a good day at the office for Curbishley's side, who rise to seventh place as a result of the win whilst maintaining their 100% record on the road (three wins out of three in all competitions).

Now for a home win or two - hopefully starting with the visit of Middlesbrough to The Boleyn next weekend.

* Thanks to some bright spark you can see highlights from today's game here:

Bellamy's goal - Second half highlights


Match Stats

West Ham United: Green, Neill, McCartney, Ferdinand, Upson, Mullins, Noble, Bowyer (Spector 81), Etherington, Bellamy (Boa Morte 90+2), Ashton (Cole 64).

Subs not used: Wright, Gabbidon.

Goals: Bellamy (6), Etherington (48, 90+4).

Booked: Green (55).

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Fae (Kitson 61), Harper, Gunnarson (Cisse 69), Hunt, Lita (Convey 75), Doyle.

Subs not used: Federici, Bikey.

Referee: Howard Webb.

Attendance: 23,533.

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