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GAME DETAILS
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| With Mark Stefanich
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HammerheadSaint
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Harry''s happy Hammers met this Croatian side after reaching the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup which they had won beating Metz (France) in the Final. West Ham had finished 5th in the Premier League the previous season.
Paolo Di Canio and Frank Lampard both played this night, as did West Ham''s Chilean National captain Javier Margas who sported a Claret-coloured hair-do. Hammers won 6-1 0n aggregate.
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GeorgeParrisPet
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Neil Thorogood
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nicky didd
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Elliot
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mitchelluk
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With Mark Stefanich
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eddiecurry
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CUTTING THE summer holidays
short to play FC Jokerit in the Intertoto Cup may not have seemed much
fun at the time, but West Ham's decision to earn a first-ever Uefa Cup
place the hard way was looking far more worthwhile last night. An
emphatic victory over little-known opponents, who nevertheless stand
third in the Croatian league, was no less than the London side deserved
for a performance that was fit to begin a new chapter in the club's
European history.
Only
after a three-goal lead had been established inside an hour by Paulo
Wanchope, Paolo Di Canio and Frank Lampard did concentration slacken,
which might have brought an away goal to give Osijek more realistic
hope for the second leg.However tortuous the journey to the
small town near the Yugoslav border may prove in a fortnight's time, it
will be no more so than the road West Ham have followed thus far, via
Finland, the Netherlands and France. Despite interfering with
pre-season preparations, those matches appear to have had a beneficial
effect, and it has been in their few Premiership games that injuries
have occurred, notably to the defenders Ian and Stuart Pearce, Rio
Ferdinand and Scott Minto.That meant another chance last night
for the Chilean Javier Margas, who showed an awareness of the historic
nature of the occasion by dyeing his hair claret and blue. Any
suggestion of party spirit was soon dispelled by the vigour of the
challenges - two of which brought yellow cards for John Moncur and
Steve Potts - but no team including Wanchope and Di Canio can be
expected to forsake party tricks altogether.The Italian was as
irrepressible as he had been against Watford last Saturday. How sick
Sheffield Wednesday must be of hearing Harry Redknapp singing his
praises: "He just sees things other players don't" was the manager's
tribute last night.Those words applied, in particular, to the
first goal at a perfect time, just before the interval. Thirty yards
out, Di Canio lifted a free-kick forward by placing his foot under the
ball, Margas's claret-and-blue head propelled it past Mario Galinovic
and Wanchope stole the goal from a matter of inches.Prevented
from reaching the dressing-room with the benefit of a clean sheet to
encourage them, Osijek fell victim to two aberrations by the goalkeeper
in the first three minutes of the second half. Having saved well from
Trevor Sinclair's volley - set up by another innovative Di Canio
free-kick - he dropped Lomas's long throw and had to be rescued by a
defender. Possibly unnerved as the noise from the large crowd
redoubled, Galinovic then chose completely the wrong angle for a
side-footed clearance, which went straight to Di Canio. The Italian
calmly side-stepped him and provided a lesson in geometry with a
precise shot into the far corner of the net - both cute and acute. The
angles were just right again in the 58th minute as Sinclair sent
Lampard in for a thumping finish and an invaluable three- goal margin.West
Ham United (3-5-2): Hislop; Potts, Stimac, Margas; Sinclair, Lomas,
Lampard, Moncur (Foe, 88), Keller; Di Canio (Kitson, 85), Wanchope.
Substitutes not used: Carrick, Etherington, Forbes, Newton, Forrest
(gk).Osijek (3-5-2): Galinovic; Zebic, Beljan, Besirevic
(Balatinac, 78); Gaspar, Vranjes, Ergovic, Vuica, Babic; Bubalo
(Turkovic, 80), Prisc (Mitu, 57). Substitutes not used: Grnja, Zrilic,
Ostopanj, Malovan (gk).Referee: J Paraty Silva (Portugal).
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