West Ham v Fulham player ratings
Another dismal Fulham display did nothing to ease the pressure on manager Martin Jol. Here’s how we rated the players in their 3-0 defeat – their fifth consecutive loss.
Maarten Stekelenburg: 7
Was left exposed for all three goals. Produced a good save to deny Stewart Downing in the first half and a couple of other decent stops after the break kept Fulham in the game. Dealt with set-pieces well too.
Elsad Zverotic: 5
Composed on the ball but was given the runaround as West Ham ran riot in the wide areas. Endured a particularly torrid spell midway through the first half.
Aaron Hughes: 6
More solid than the hapless Philippe Senderos and does the basics well enough, but was still given problems by West Ham’s pace and movement.
Fernando Amorebieta: 5
Unlucky for the opening goal when the ball deflected in off him but overall he has struggled badly in recent weeks and was poor again, consistently losing his man. Caught napping for the second goal.
Kieran Richardson: 6
Had a mixed game. Saved the day with a couple of excellent challenges and looked bright going forward at times, but also had a difficult time against a team that attacked in wide areas from start to finish. Was beginning to be run ragged prior to coming off and was skinned in the build-up to the second goal, although Jol later explained that Richardson was struggling with a hamstring problem.
Damien Duff: 5
Offered very little in terms of defensive cover and even less going forward. A very poor showing.
Scott Parker: 6
Was tackled in the build-up to West Ham’s all-important opener but was arguably fouled. Not a bad display but found the going tough in midfield against his former club.
Steve Sidwell: 5
Definitely at fault for the first goal, weakly losing out to the goalscorer Mo Diame. Gave the ball away on other occasions too and the home side were often able to play around him with ease.
Pajtim Kasami: 6
Had Fulham’s only real effort on goal in the second half and at least tried to create from his left-sided position. Was willing to track back too.
Adel Taarabt: 6
Lost the ball a few times, which he’s always likely to do when things don’t come off for him. He also showed moments of great skill, including one outrageous turn in the second half, and was at the heart of Fulham’s best spell in the match; a period in the first half in which his runs at the Hammers defence had the home side worried.
Darren Bent: 5
When Taarabt played in an identical role for QPR at West Ham last season, Loic Remy repeatedly drifted in behind the home defence to collect threaded passes from the Moroccan. He looked for Bent to do the same but the striker’s movement was poor and he failed exploit the space Taarabt opened up with his menacing runs torwards the edge of the box.
Bryan Ruiz: 6
Had no real opportunity to get into the game after coming on, as the home side were totally dominant.
West Ham
Fulham were poor, but they never had a chance to get into the game against a team that threatened at will down both flanks and were dominant in midfield. West Ham were excellent, making a mockery of their poor recent results.
Man of the match
Mo Diame. The all-action Hammers star was too much for Fulham to handle.
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01/12/2013 @ 1:15 pm
Saw the game yesterday. I’ve been a West Ham season ticket holder for donkeys years but hated seeing Fulham ( for whom I’ve always had a soft spot) play like that.
Fulham need to get into the transfer window in January & buy someone with a tigerish spirit to lead the lads & get them playing with belief which seemed to be absent yesterday. C’mon Fulham you can do it.