Manchester United blew the chance to move above Manchester City in the Premier League in a night of high drama that saw the match delayed by 45-minutes after their bus was attacked en route to the Boleyn Ground.
Football took a step back into the dark ages last night after the Manchester United team coach was attacked by West Ham fans as it made its way to the Boleyn Ground.
Thousands of fans swarmed around the stadium to be a part of the last ever game to be played at The Boleyn Ground before it’s demolished, and the United team coach got stuck in the human quagmire, and West Ham fans let them know it.
Nine windows were smashed in total as West Ham fans pelted the bus with bottles. Fortunately, the windows are double glazed to most of the inner windows remained intact. The drivers window and the seat behind him were completely smashed through. No injuries were reported.
The attack meant we had to wait 45-minutes for one of the most emotional renditions of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles in the club’s history. The trouble on the coach must have got to the United players because they were never at the races.
West Ham launched at their throats like a Pit Bull from the moment a ball was kicked. It was a game that West Ham dared not lose. It was a game that if United had won would have taken them above Man City into fourth place with a home tie against Bournemouth waiting to seal Champions League qualification, and possibly secure Louis van Gaal’s job.
West Ham had not beaten United in the Premier League for nearly a decade, but in the first 20-minutes it looked like they would sweep United aside with ease, and they deservedly led after Manuel Lanzini squared the ball to Diafra Sakho who’s shot on goal took a defelction of Daley Blind to find it’s way into the back of the United net.
United came into this tie on the back of six unbeaten Premier League games. West Ham were trying shake off the cobwebs after a hammering at the hands of Swansea on the weekend. But when the two teams disappeared for the half time break the form guide looked reversed.
Things changed dramatically five minutes after the interval. Marcus Rashford put Juan Mata through on the edge of the box. The Spaniard breezed past a West Ham defender as if he wasn’t there before handed the ball on a plate to Anthony Martial to equalise from close range.
West Ham nearly struck back almost instantly. Dimitri Payet hitting the side net with a curler from the edge of the box, before the Frenchman put the ball on the head of Skaho, five yeards from goal, and he somehow managed to head it over the bar.
Then in the 72nd minute United looked like stealing the thunder after Martial skinned Aaron Cresswell inside the penalty area before chipping the ball into the back of the next for the second goal of the match. It wasn’t a goal that the West Ham keeper Darren Randolph will want to see again as he was beaten far too easily.
United kept that lead for less than four minutes. Payet was once again the provider this time with a beautiful cross to the far stick and Michail Antonio arrived right on queue to head the ball passed David De Gea.
Five minutes later and United felt like they were back on that team bus. Once again it was Payet drifting the ball into the box and this time Winston Reid headed it passed the United keeper who had kept three clean sheets in his previous four games, and West Ham were going to win their final game at this famous stadium in a five goal thriller.
When the final whistle went you could tell how much it meant for Slaven Bilic and the coaching staff to win this game. It has been their home since 1904, and although the ground will be missed, I think it’s somewhat poetic that West Ham get to move to the Olympic Stadium at a time when they are playing some of the best football in the clubs history.
For United, it was another case of a wasted opportunity. They have been terrible this season under the Dutchman, and yet they still could have qualified for the Champions League after Arsenal did them a favour with a draw against Man City at the weekend. Their hopes are not dead and buried, but they will need Swansea to beat City at the Liberty Stadium and hope they can beat Bournemouth at Old Trafford. If that happens they will go through, and Van Gaal may keep his job, but is that what United fans want?
Results
West Ham 3 v 2 Man United
Champions League Qualification Odds
Man City – 1/8
Man Utd – 6/1
Premier League Standings
1st. Leicester – 80 pts.
2nd. Spurs – 70 pts.
3rd. Arsenal – 68 pts.
4th. Man City – 65 pts.
5th. Man Utd – 63 pts.
6th. West Ham – 62 pts.
7th. Southampton – 60 pts.
8th. Liverpool – 58 pts.
9th. Chelsea – 48 pts.
10th. Stoke – 48 pts.
11th. Swansea – 46 pts.
12th. Everton – 44 pts.
13th. Watford – 44 pts.
14th. Crystal Palace – 42 pts.
15th. West Brom – 42 pts.
16th. Bournemouth – 42 pts.
17th. Sunderland – 35 pts.
18th. Newcastle – 34 pts.
19th. Norwich – 31 pts.
20th. Aston Villa – 17 pts.
