Match ends, West Ham United 1, West Bromwich Albion 1.
West HamWest Ham United1West BromWest Bromwich Albion1
- Tony Pulis begins West Brom reign with point
- Baggies halt run of three league defeats
- Saido Berahino grabs ninth of the season
- Diafra Sakho scores seventh goal in 11 league starts
New manager Tony Pulis watched West Brom produce a gutsy performance to pick up a deserved point at West Ham.
Despite taking a seat in the stands, Pulis appeared to relay instructions to the players and also visited the dressing room at half-time.
His new side conceded in the 10th minute when Diafra Sakho headed in Aaron Cresswell's left-wing cross.
Saido Berahino levelled just before the break when he converted Stephane Sessegnon's cross from 10 yards.
West Brom stay a point clear of the relegation zone in 17th while West Ham drop to seventh, after Tottenham defeated Chelsea 5-3 in the evening fixture..
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce said he was wary that West Brom's players would raise their levels in order to impress their new manager and they certainly played positively.
The defence showed the sort of resilience associated with Pulis sides, with Gareth McAuley and Joleon Lescott keeping the in-form Andy Carroll quiet.
At the other end, most attacks went through Beninese midfielder Sessegnon, who combined pace with intelligent play in the final third to give the Hammers backline a tough workout.
It was the home side, on the back of two defeats, who started the brightest and took the lead when striker Sakho scored as he charged in to meet Cresswell's cross. It was the Senegal international's fifth headed goal in the Premier League this season.
Instead of crumbling, the Baggies regrouped and were unfortunate not to equalise when Chris Baird's instinctive toe-poked volley was brilliantly saved by Adrian.
They did beat the Spanish keeper with the move of the match. Straight from a West Ham set-piece in their own area, the Baggies broke with Berahino feeding Sessegnon who returned the ball with a precise square pass, which was converted with a calm finish.
After the break, Albion's technical director Terry Burton and Dave Kemp, Pulis's former assistant at Stoke and Crystal Palace, were sent to the bench by the new manager with instructions for assistants Rob Kelly and Keith Downing.
Pulis need not have worried too much because, aside from a Cresswell free-kick against the foot of the post, the Hammers rarely worried West Brom keeper Ben Foster.
In fact, it could have been all three points in his first match had Berahino's shot caught a big enough deflection off James Collins to beat Adrian.
Pulis's first match on the bench will be an FA Cup third-round tie against Gateshead, before his side are at home to fellow strugglers Hull.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce:
"In terms of the players and where they are it was a big effort.
"It would be nothing else other than a tired performance from both teams today. When you fatigue like the lads are going to do, more mistakes happen and that has to be accepted.
"Today it was about the result, not about the performance because the performance was never going to be great. Never. Not after you have asked the players to play a third time in six days - what we needed was to get the result and, unfortunately, we didn't get it."
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Line-ups
West Ham
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 13Adrián
- 18Jenkinson
- 19Collins
- 2Reid
- 3Cresswell
- 30Song
- 21AmalfitanoSubstituted forJarvisat 55'minutes
- 8KouyatéBooked at 4mins
- 11Downing
- 15SakhoSubstituted forE Valenciaat 72'minutes
- 9CarrollSubstituted forColeat 84'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Nolan
- 7Jarvis
- 16Noble
- 17O'Brien
- 22Jääskeläinen
- 24Cole
- 31E Valencia
West Brom
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Foster
- 2Wisdom
- 23McAuley
- 6Lescott
- 4Baird
- 7Morrison
- 21MulumbuSubstituted forYacobat 67'minutes
- 17DorransSubstituted forVarelaat 79'minutes
- 29Sessegnon
- 11Brunt
- 18BerahinoSubstituted forIdeyeat 73'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Yacob
- 9Ideye
- 13Myhill
- 16Gamboa
- 25Dawson
- 27Varela
- 36Nabi
- Referee:
- Jonathan Moss
- Attendance:
- 34,914
Match Stats
Home TeamWest HamAway TeamWest Brom
- Possession
- Home46%
- Away54%
- Shots
- Home8
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away3
- Corners
- Home0
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home6
- Away13
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, West Ham United 1, West Bromwich Albion 1.
Post update
Attempt missed. Silvestre Varela (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by James Morrison.
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Foul by Chris Baird (West Bromwich Albion).
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Enner Valencia (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Brown Ideye (West Bromwich Albion).
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Winston Reid (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion).
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Matthew Jarvis (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt missed. Stéphane Sessegnon (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by James Morrison.
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Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Cheikhou Kouyaté.
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Carlton Cole replaces Andy Carroll.
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Foul by James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion).
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Stewart Downing (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion).
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Cheikhou Kouyaté (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Silvestre Varela replaces Graham Dorrans because of an injury.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion) because of an injury.
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Attempt missed. Chris Baird (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Claudio Yacob.
