Nice to see West Ham put one win on the board, equalling our best winning run of the season.
And this was one of the home games I was slightly dreading. Birmingham looked tidy and very composed, as befits a side flying high in the league. There were a few scares when Bowyer managed to shake his markers, and we looked understandably shaky every time a high ball was lobbed forward, but the clean sheet is totally justified on the night.
I thought Kovac was quite superb in the midfield general role, and Behrami and Cole also looked much closer to 100% in terms of both fitness and form. Not much to say about Mido and Ilan, who both looked barely capable of much more than filling space on the field, but perhaps the boost that the incomers gave was more psychological than actual. Certainly with Mido and Cole up front, if nothing else it kept defenders busy and made space for the likes of Faubert and Diamanti to actually pick out crosses with some hope of end-product in the box.
The selection was certainly an almost complete u-turn from Gianfranco Zola, settling for a rigid 4-4-2, and dropping Noble and Collison to the bench, reinstating Ilunga and Kovac, and going for real experience. Brave decisions which paid off.
Of course he would argue that he’s not often been in the position this season to be able make changes to the side, and he’d have a case. Apparently Birmingham’s team was changed for the first time in 13 matches – what Zola wouldn’t give for that sort of stability.
With that performance, the team have righted the wrongs of that quite pathetic display against Blackburn, and with Hull at home the next home game the prospects do look good for an easing of pressure. Looking at the other Prem fixtures coming up, Burnley have Aston Villa, Wolves have Chelsea and Sunderland have Man Utd. If Wigan and Bolton can draw their match there’s a real opportunity to put some space between us and the bottom over the next fortnight.
Suddenly we’re looking upwards. Amazing what one win can do – if only we could have got it in December rather than February!!!
