Premier League - West Ham win for Zola

Eurosport - Sun, 21 Sep 11:11:00 2008

Gianfranco Zola got the perfect start as West Ham manager as his side beat Newcastle United 3-1 in the Premier League at Upton Park.

2008-2009 West Ham-Newcastle Carlton Cole David Di Michele - 0

The Italian profited from two first-half goals by his compatriot David Di Michele, before Matthew Etherington added a third after the break.

Newcastle captain Michael Owen pulled one back, but by that time the game was out of reach for the visitors.

A vibrant display made good on Zola's pledge to bring style back to West Ham, even if the team's appearance got them off to a rocky start.

They appeared last weekend with a patch of material over their now-defunct sponsor's logo.

This weekend they went one better, sporting white rectangles on their chests bearing the players' shirt numbers.

The effect was to make the Hammers's attire look better suited to a school sports day than the Premier League.

Alan Curbishley narrowly 'beat' Newcastle's Kevin Keegan when he became the first manager to lose his job this season.

Now the West Ham players looked dressed for a very different kind of sack race.

But the sartorial catastrophe was forgotten inside eight minutes when Di Michele supplied the perfect start thanks to a combination of skill and luck.

He jinked his way past three challenges before shooting left-footed from the edge of the box.

The ball hit defender Steven Taylor and ricocheted into the ground, before looping up and over the stranded Shay Given.

Newcastle, coached by Chris Hughton in the absence of a permanent manager, hit back with plenty of possession but no penetration.

Geremi showed signs of life down the right flank, as did Charles N'Zogbia down the left, but Owen and Xisco lacked sharpness up front.

Damien Duff had a penalty shout turned down after his cross hit Scott Parker's arms, but Newcastle failed to test goalkeeper Robert Green.

It was two on 37 minutes, when Di Michele went through one-on-one and saw his shot parried by Given.

But the ball came back to him, he lifted it past a flailing defender, and drilled a low volley into the bottom-right corner.

Fortune smiled on the Hammers again in the 53rd minute, when some spectacularly lax defending saw Di Michele go clean through down the right channel.

He went for his hat-trick right-footed, but dragged his shot across the face of goal. However, there was no defender on hand to clear and the ball fell straight to Etherington who tapped in from close range.

Midway through the second half Owen gave Newcastle a glimmer of hope with a superb finish.

He collected an N'Zogbia pass, shifted the ball into a foot of space and curled his shot past Green into the far corner. Vintage Owen.

Claudio Cacapa and Duff then gave Green further work to do, but West Ham weathered the storm to get their Italian revolution off to a flier.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 15 - 34 of 34

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  1. The Price for Newcastle will drop through the floor if they get relegated. The idiot who owns the club ought to get his finger if he has any love of this club.

    Tottenham are glad because Newcastle will finish below them.

    From KCUFTHEU, on Mon 22 Sep 11:55AM

  2. I've bin a newcastle supporter for 30 odd year man and I'm crying in me newkey Broown
    like coz I can't believe it 3-1 West Ham so am gonning doown the toon ta get pissed like...

    From KCUFTHEU, on Mon 22 Sep 11:52AM

  3. The skunks have always thought they are better than they are. they are not clever enough to work out that they have not achieved anything for a long long time.
    Plus under the present set-up they never will. But they will still brag about being a top 4 club. remarkable, they live in a dreamland and cannot smell the coffee.

    From TTIOT, on Mon 22 Sep 9:00AM

  4. ive been a hammers fan for more than 30 yrs .so nothing upsets me anymore .its like the bad wife .you've just got to live with it

    From PATRICK, on Mon 22 Sep 4:59AM

  5. Nah. West Ham has the same problem as Newcastle but in a lesser degree. If any player shows he is good he will be sold. So Zola will be doing ok no more.

    From Half A Brain, on Sun 21 Sep 10:16PM

  6. John H! Newcastle were not a disgrace at west ham, i should know i was there. I admit that at times we certainly could have done better but i was encouraged by the spirit shown especially in the 2nd half! Just remember that Newcastle have got their injury problems too and Michael Owen still is not 100% match fit yet! As for RONSENGLISH Taylors Challenge was not that bad at all! Although i am a loyal Toon Army fan i must give credit where it is due, West Ham played some nice football at times and although i think it is still quite early to say for sure, Zola is going to be as good for West Ham as he was for Chelsea as a player. I dont think he will be challenging for trophies straight away give him a couple of seasons and i am sure they will be the type of team that people just dont want to be drawn against in the cup!

    From ToonToon, on Sun 21 Sep 2:31PM

  7. It`s about time these so-called NUFC footballers started to earn their ridiculously high wages.
    They were a disgrace at West Ham, and do not deserve any wage until they prove their worth.

    From Bobby Robson A Legend, on Sun 21 Sep 12:25PM

  8. well done lads but you must keep it up this is only zola first game

    From john.dyer8dyer@..., on Sun 21 Sep 9:53AM

  9. nrwcastle are sinking faster then the titanic

    From k_brown2@..., on Sun 21 Sep 9:20AM

  10. Dear oh dear. NUFC is starting to collect the losses and the near future looks nothing close to bright. The players in that team would do the same even in lesser championship like the polish or the Kazakhstan or Zimbabwean championships. I have really no idea what Ashely wants from the team. Wanting to sell for twice the price, getting rid of all good players (Owen will be next to go when his contract is finished this year). I am starting to think that he actually hates NUFC so much that he is willing to loosing money just to ruin it.. I truly feel sorry for the fantastic fans of NUFC. To me they are the best in England..

    From Half A Brain, on Sun 21 Sep 7:10AM

  11. OWEN!!!
    just quit newcastle...
    for ur own good...

    From KIN, on Sun 21 Sep 6:13AM

  12. Too early to judge WHU.Zola was a great player but great players necessarily don't make great managers.The season is very long and WHU fan's must wait and see how this team it's going to perform under Gianfranco Zola management. As far as Di Michele I've seen David play in Serie A many times and I think he's a good player and perhaps under the guidance of Zola he will become a very good player, at any rate this is only one game!!!!!

    From dante, on Sun 21 Sep 4:07AM

  13. zola is the best player and manager

    From irwan, on Sun 21 Sep 2:16AM

  14. A yellow card for Steven Taylor after he went piling in to Carlton Cole. It's time ref's started giving red cards for this type of tackle. They're all to quick to punish silly things, taking of shirt, kicking ball away, complaints on bad decisions. I hate Chelsea with a passion but how could a ref' give Terry a red for a shirt pull when so many career threatening challenges get only a yellow or no card at all.

    From Ronsenglish, on Sun 21 Sep 2:04AM

  15. blinding result lads_was even happier seeing shearer crying on match of the day screaming about the newcastle defence_haha,.although we beat a poor newcastle side
    _ _thats also a big problem at westham,the defence_we need a true leader.
    whillst we continue to leek goals,greenie wont get the number 1 jersey at international
    level,.well done zola/clarke_early days to get to carried away,.
    a win was very important today,

    From stephen, on Sat 20 Sep 10:41PM

  16. Who do Newcastle think they are??? They turn up season after season thinking they are better than they are. They are second rate, and are lucky to finish in the top half. I hope they go down, other clubs that are trying far harder ie west ham deserve all the praise they can get. Good fans kak club kak Players

    From Tom, on Sat 20 Sep 10:08PM

  17. PI$$ED OFF. the board at west ham have been asked to promote the Bobby Moore Fund/ cancer research logos until they find a sponsor, but yet again they refuse. good win tho

    From cbrabender@..., on Sat 20 Sep 9:53PM

  18. Hello im a chelsea fan come on zola help west ham will all the games

    From Esat X, on Sat 20 Sep 9:46PM

  19. I am not a supporter of anyone, I just love football but the politics are getting in the way now far too much. So sorry yet again for the Newcastle fans. Something will have to be done pretty quick to stop the rot as there are holes appearing all over the pitch if the Five Live Commentary was correct. They are a big club in terms of support and no way deserve to go down. There are no comparisons between Zola and Wise, apart from the size. The former was a model professional and a credit to the game and he even spoke better English when interviewed and he has a genuine smile. I wonder how much Newcastle are still paying Wise? Whatever it is,for the ordinary man on the street who works hard for his entry money it must be regarded as disgraceful.

    From taff, on Sat 20 Sep 8:01PM

  20. boro fan here....well done u hammers...love ya t death...what a team..good luck lads

    From butchkins@..., on Sat 20 Sep 8:00PM
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