West Ham 3 Chelsea 1: Carlton Cole was fantastic, says Sam Allardyce
West Ham 3 Chelsea 1: Sam Allardyce heaped praise on former Blues striker Carlton Cole for a match-winning display
Sam Allardyce heaped praise on Carlton Cole after the striker played a key part in West Ham United’s victory over Chelsea at Upton Park.
The Blues took a first-half lead when Fernando Torres teed up Juan Mata, with the Spanish midfielder slotting his strike past West Ham’s Jussi Jääskeläine.
Allardyce’s side were much-improved after the interval, and Cole’s close-range header restored parity in the 63rd minute.
West Ham’s comeback was complete when substitute Mohamed Diame’s powerful finished flew past Petr Cech before Modibo Maiga added a third on the stroke of full-time to cement three points.
“He [Cole] was fantastic.” West Ham boss Allardyce told Sky Sports.
“Everything we played up with a bit of quality he held on to and he messed about Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic all day.
“It was a great game for him to get the goal against his old club.
“The players can really enjoy the week now and come back refreshed for Liverpool.”
The West Ham boss rested Diame following a midweek trip to Old Trafford before introducing the midfielder from the bench at half-time.
The 25-year-old immediately impressed, scoring West Ham’s second before pressurising the Chelsea defence into a mistake in the lead up to Maiga’s strike
“He’s hitting such high levels in terms of his physical output,” added the Hammers boss.
“I thought in the last 20 minutes against Manchester United, he’d ran his socks off.
“Mark Noble was back from suspension and Tomkins did a great job in midfield.
“I didn’t expect to have to bring Diamo on at half-time, but I had to the way we were playing, and of course, he showed his qualities again.”
