Favourites West Ham reach Wembley final after crushing Cardiff
WEST HAM UNITED (3) vs CARDIFF CITY (0)
WEST HAM WIN 5-0 ON AGGREGATE
WEST HAM boss Sam Allardyce last night backed his players to cope with the pressure of a Wembley final that will determine whether their season is seen as a success or a failure.
First half goals from Kevin Nolan and Ricardo Vaz Te killed off yesterday’s Championship second leg play-off against Cardiff City, before a late Nicky Maynard strike sealed the win.
Allardyce’s men will face either Blackpool or Birmingham City in the play-off final next Saturday, 19 May, exactly 47 years to the day that West Ham won the European Cup Winners’ Cup at the original Wembley Stadium.
“What a fantastic stage to go and play on,” Allardyce said. “It’s a big pressure for us and whoever we get we will probably be favourites again. Hopefully we can hold it together and give a performance like we did today.”
The Hammers’ comfortable win was marred only by injury to midfielder Jack Collison, who dislocated his shoulder just minutes into the second half; he was substituted and taken to hospital to assess the damage.
Otherwise it was a happy day for the home side, beginning with a Nolan header from close range on 15 minutes, after Matt Taylor whipped in an inswinging corner from the right.
The lead was doubled shortly before the break when a pass from right-back Guy Demel eluded Stephen McPhail and dropped for Vaz Te, who found the top left corner with a confident right-footed strike.
In the 90th minute a similar finish ended the tie, after striker Maynard was played in by a slide-rule through-ball from Henri Lansbury.