West Ham United will field their strongest available team in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay which condemns out-of-sorts Everton to ordeal by the human wrecking ball that is Andy Carroll. Sam Allardyce and his increasingly happy Hammers believe they can win the Cup and are confident of progress at home where Carroll will again seek to remind Roy Hodgson he is fit, firing and good enough to offer England the option of the traditional target-man centre-forward.
The muscular striker’s goal at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday was a gem of the highest class and drew praise from both sides. Garry Monk, whose Swansea City team have conceded three in two games to Carroll these past five weeks, said: “He is a very good player who dominates most defenders physically – every defender if the ball in to him is right.”
On this occasion the not-so-gentle giant took Stewart Downing’s left-wing cross on his chest, holding off Ashley Williams, then brushed past Tom Carroll and turned Federico Fernández inside out on the 18-yard line in working the ball on to his favoured left foot. He then dispatched the sweetest of shots into the top left corner of Lukasz Fabianski’s net. The Swansea defenders could have done a lot better but credit where it is due: Carroll demonstrated he has good, quick feet as well as a commanding presence in the air.
Scored just before half-time, the goal gave West Ham a deserved lead and they would not have been flattered by three points. Instead Swansea replied late on with an equaliser they wanted to credit to Bafétimbi Gomis. The Frenchman’s glancing header hit Adrián’s left-hand upright and was on its way out when Mark Noble’s maladroit last touch deflected it in for what was clearly an own goal.
Why was Monk so determined to give it to Gomis? Because the manager faces the herculean task of replacing Wilfried Bony, who is to join Manchester City for a £25m fee rising to £28m, when he returns from the Africa Cup of Nations and Gomis is the striker earmarked to do it. Monk said: “Bafé is the one who created the goal, it was a great header. He performed really well and I think he deserved the goal.”
Gomis celebrated the equaliser by grabbing a tricolore from the kit man and looking up to the heavens in tribute to the victims of the Paris terrorist attack. “It wasn’t an easy week for all French people and I wanted to join my country even though I don’t live there any more,” he said. “I am happy Swansea supported me in this difficult time to provide me with the [black] armband and the French flag to show my support towards my country.”
He has spoken recently about the frustration of his role as Bony’s understudy and has had his agent talking to other clubs but Monk is sanguine about the situation. “Bafé hasn’t said anything bad, only what every agent in the world is doing. It would only bother me if he wasn’t trying or his performance was affected. You can see in all the games he is playing that he is 100% with us.
“He is important. He is my No1 striker now and I am looking to him for the rest of the season. Wilfried was always leaving so I had to prepare for it. Bafé was always going to be the No1 striker with Nélson Oliveira [signed on loan from Benfica] supplementing the squad.
“This is Bafé’s chance to stake a claim for that shirt and if he does well enough he will keep it. We want him to stay. We want him to be a part of the future of the club.”
Man of the match Andy Carroll (West Ham United)
