A fitting farewell

Thank God the Swansea match wasn’t our final game at Boleyn Ground. So far it’s been a season of mixed emotions but during our unbeaten home run it became very important that West Ham provide a good performance on the final day and give our iconic stadium a farewell we can be proud off. The Swansea game was anything but that so it was good news that because of the FA Cup games we got to play Manchester United on Tuesday evening in the final week of the season and make things right. Manchester United under the lights, it can hardly be more glamorous. The stage was set for an epic finale. The Swansea debacle meant that Champions League is now out of reach but it was still a very important game as it could help secure our place in Europa League. Of course, Manchester United had their own plans of leapfrogging Manchester City which meant the result will be significant for both sides involved. As for our starting line up, Darren Randolph was in goal once again deputizing for injured Adrian but otherwise there were no major surprises as Slaven Bilić made only one change from our weekend game with Diafra Sakho replacing Victor Moses on the wing.
The hosts started the game brightly, as they usually do, and had a couple of promising attacks early in the game. And they were soon rewarded when Manuel Lanzini drilled a cross from the left and Diafra Sakho finished excellently with his left foot to give West Ham the lead in the tenth minute. It could have gotten even worse for Manchester United shortly after when a terrible error from Daley Blind allowed Andy Carrol to run at David de Gea unopposed but the goalkeeper made a great save to keep his team in the game. Even the marvelous goalkeeper was unable to stop Michael Antonio from scoring a header from close range as West Ham kept crossing the ball but that goal was disallowed because the ball went out for a corner before it got to Antonio. West Ham had another great chance when Lanzini and Carrol superbly created space for Payet but his shot went well wide of goal, much to the delight of the opposing fans. Manchester United team were surprisingly uninventive in the first half and they never looked capable of spoiling the Hammers party.
That soon changed after the interval. Manchester team came out more determined and tried to respond. They managed to equalize just five minutes into the second half when Anthony Martial scored from short range after Juan Mata made a great run through the West Ham defence end crossed from right. In the following minutes the game became more balanced as the visitors found their confidence and it felt like anything could happen before the end. Carrol had the chance to score but his effort was cleared off the line by Blind. Instead, it was Manchester United who scored the next goal with spirited Martial, who was by far the brightest spark in the visiting team, beating Randolph on the near post and completing the comeback. Their lead was not to last long, however. Once again, Payet free kick resulted in a West Ham goal. This time the Frenchman assist found Antonio who headed the ball past De Hea. As the sensational game was coming to a close there was still time for one more final goal at the Boleyn Ground. Another free kick, another Payet cross and this time it was Winston Reid who rose highest and turned the game completely on it’s head. For a while now I thought about who would I want to score the last goal of the season and I had several preferable candidates but in the end I’m glad it was the long serving Kiwi defender who was the one to be forever immortalized in West Ham folklore. In the final moments of the game it was West Ham’s turn to clear the ball of the line but Aaron Cresswell made no mistake and West Ham got the win they fully deserved.
There was a change of tactics by Bilić as Cheikhou Kouyate often played deeper than usual, helping the defence, almost playing as a third central defender at times. As a result, the defense looked better than they did against Swansea but there were still nervous moments and the first goal was easily avoidable if we were more organized at the back. Maybe at the moment Randolph is just not able to organize our back line in the same way our first choice goalkeeper can. Mark Noble always excels in great occasions and as West Ham games rarely come greater than this, he was ready to lead by example once again. Under the nose of the England manager he was in the heart of everything that made our team work, providing a link between defence and our more creative players. With Kouyate playing slightly deeper then usual, Noble was assisted marvelously by Manuel Lanzini who seems to get better with every game and right now looks like a complete midfielder rather than just a flair player he promised to be when he first broke in the first team squad. Up front, Payet was playing exactly like a Hammer of the Year is expected to play, constantly worrying the Manchester United defence and he could have easily added to his two assists with a goal of his own. Even without scoring, his impressive assists tally alone makes him one of the best players in the League this season. It was great to see Sakho getting on the scoresheet again but that is just a part of his game and Slaven Bilić will be equally happy with the effort he and Carrol provided for the team once again. Their work rate and tactical awareness are rightly admired and it’s a real shame they both had their game time cruelly cut short this season. If they had more luck with their injuries it would have been a much different season for West Ham.
The game itself was in danger of becoming overshadowed by the events that accompanied the special occasion. After the final whistle, there were few supporters leaving their seats as there was a great event prepared to mark the end of an era and give our beloved stadium a fitting farewell. Everything that happened and the bittersweet feeling all fans experienced deserve another article to be written so I’ll just say here that I will never forget the images of celebration from the crowd and the team with the former players joining in, teary-eyed Bilić, overwhelmed with emotion, and claret and blue taxies bringing the heroes of the past to the Boleyn one last time. Farewell, Boleyn Ground, and thank you for the memories.