Cole Comes in From the Cold to Heat Up Hammers' Game

The sun was shining, the Hammers were returning home after a 3-0 victory at Reading two weeks ago and Russell Brand's newspaper column lay neatly folded for perusal at the interval. T'were very heaven to be a cultured West Ham fan.

The first half, however, was a purgatory that seemed to have no end. Seldom can a more soporific 45 minutes and 180 never ending seconds of added time have been played here. And the fans in their thousands were not so much slumbering as nearly dead before being revived by three goals in the second half.

West Ham attacked from the off, looking penetrating down both flanks and forcing a corner on the left. The first half-chance fell to Mark Noble, who side-footed his effort when less subtlety was probably required.

Just before the quarter-hour, they appeared to take the lead as Craig Bellamy poked the ball through the Boro defence and Dean Ashton finished with assurance. However, the linesman's flag was up and, judging by the players' reaction, Ashton must have realised he had strayed offside.

At the other end, in their first attack Boro's Mido released Jeremie Aliadiere, whose shot went past Robert Green and hit the post. This time the striker was definitely onside, so the goal would have stood.

The game became more fluid. Noble looking particularly tigerish in the middle of the field. Bellamy was forced to go off injured in the 26th minute after pulling up sharply and was replaced by Carlton Cole. Ashton, wearing red boots, had a shot charged down. Aliadiere fell to earth with a hamstring injury, Boro bringing on Tuncay Sanli in his place.

The game went through a flat period. Nothing happened. There was time to mull over the number of solicitors offering their wares on the perimeter advertising. Then Boro might have scored. Green stretched to palm a ball away from a Tuncay cross, but it only went as far as Julio Arca, who put it wide.

West Ham responded with Cole showing good skill on the edge of the area, but then negligently mislaying his pass. When the fourth official indicated three minutes for stoppages, there was a collective yawn. But Noble nearly took advantage of the time as he skewered his shot on the turn just wide.

Seldom, if ever, has a game so needed a goal and thankfully it came within a minute of the second half starting as a clever flick from Cole allowed Lee Bowyer to sneak in and prod the ball past Mark Schwarzer.

Suddenly West Ham were buoyant and five minutes later they were dancing on air when Cole was once again the provider, chipping another clever ball into the area for Luke Young to divert past his own goalkeeper.

The game seemed up, but Boro responded quickly with Tuncay drawing a smart save from Green. After Arca had played him in again, he was desperately unlucky to see his lob go over the keeper but land on the bar.

There had been five times the action in the opening 10 minutes than in the entire opening half. The game continued apace with Tuncay again being denied. Instead it was West Ham who scored a third. Matthew Etherington crossed from the left and storming in at the back post was Ashton to ram the ball home. .

Andrew Taylor's desperate intervention then somehow managed to deprive Cole of a deserved goal. Towards the end, the Hammers' substitute missed his easiest chance of the match. He was destined to be goalmaker, not goalscorer.