West Ham 2-0 Swansea
Sam Allardyce accused Swansea defender Chico Flores of feigning injury to get Andy Carroll sent off during a vital victory for West Ham.
The Hammers manager said his club would appeal the red card after Flores went down clutching his face following a swinging arm from Carroll.
‘Andy is beside himself with what happened,’ said Allardyce. ‘It’s the reaction of the player that makes life extremely difficult for the referee. The referee must have thought an arm had smashed in the face.
‘We know it hasn’t. Andy Carroll has not really touched him. It’s not the right reaction, it’s not the right way of acting. We will appeal against the red card.
‘All I can hope is that, in the cold light of day, the FA panel will see it for what it is.’
Carroll, making just his third start of the season, had created both West Ham goals for captain Kevin Nolan before he engaged in an aerial duel with Flores in the 59th minute.
Flores fell to the ground dramatically, clutching his face, after a stray arm from Carroll struck him a glancing blow.
Howard Webb, the premier referee in English football, who will be officiating at the World Cup in Brazil this summer, having been in charge of the game’s showpiece final in South Africa four years ago, judged Carroll culpable of an act that warranted a dismissal.
With Flores still on the ground, Webb produced a red card — to the disbelief of Carroll, the West Ham bench and their supporters, who booed the Swansea player for the remainder of the afternoon.
Flores was involved in a similar incident when West Ham drew 0-0 at Swansea in October right in front of the dugouts.
Allardyce said: ‘Flores was squealing in front of me. Centre-halves are not supposed to squeal, are they?’
Even Swansea manager Michael Laudrup sympathised with Carroll.
‘From my position, I think there was contact but a red card seemed a bit harsh,’ said the Dane. ‘It’s the kind of contact we see in every game. But the referee is a very good international official, so he must have seen an elbow and judged that he did it on purpose.
‘If I know the rules, if it is seemed as intentional, it is enough. I don’t know what Chico thought as I haven’t spoken with him yet.’
Flores has some previous in the mind of Allardyce, who was unimpressed when the Spanish defender rolled around in an exaggerated manner after being tackled by Carlton Cole when the clubs met earlier in the season. In Swansea, Allardyce responded by laughing sarcastically at Flores.
Yesterday, Allardyce found little to amuse him. Carroll is integral to West Ham’s survival hopes, as he illustrated before he was ordered from the field.
His physicality and immense prowess in the air unhinged Swansea’s defence in spite of Laudrup’s attempt to prepare his team to meet the challenge of Carroll.
‘We knew that, with the return of Carroll, the game would be a direct one from West Ham’s point of view,’ said Laudrup. ‘We struggled with him in the first half.’
In truth, Swansea had no answer to Carroll. And there was nothing 19th Century about West Ham’s football — as it was critically dismissed at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on Wednesday night.
The old North Eastern firm of Carroll and Nolan successfully returned to business in the East End of London.
After 26 minutes, Carroll climbed to cushion a header downwards into the path of Nolan, who too easily escaped his marker, Jordi Amat. Nolan chested the ball down before drilling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.
In first-half injury time, West Ham scored a second with a move that had undoubtedly been rehearsed on the training ground.
When Stewart Downing aimed an inswinging left-footed corner to the far post, Carroll materialised on command to head the ball back across goal. Nolan supplied the final touch with the gentlest of headers into the same corner of the goal as he had scored earlier.
Swansea looked a poor, toothless team yesterday, and they will be inviting trouble unless Laudrup can inspire a mean response to the timidity of their football at Upton Park.
For Allardyce, the success or failure of West Ham’s appeal will determine if Carroll can play any further part for the club in February.
‘Carroll’s not at his best yet,’ said Allardyce. ‘Hopefully, we will win the appeal. Then, the next challenge for him is to score a goal or two.’
—Daily Mail