Bubble bursts at the Boleyn

Luke Chadwick
By Neville Nixon
December 11 2004

. The home team's performance was lamentable in the first half., despite having a crowd of over 30,000 roaring them on, in fact the boys in claret and blue looked and played more like the away team!

Leeds sneaked a last minute penalty that was NOT a penalty, however, they were denied at least one other in a match that on paper Hammers should have won, leading as they were from Luke Chadwick's debut goal early in the second half. The home team's performance was lamentable in the first half.,  despite having a crowd of over 30,000 roaring them on, in fact the boys in claret and blue looked and played more like the away team!
Things changed in the second half, with Teddy Sheringham replacing an energetic but inadequate Sergei Rebrov, whose only effective contribution was a stinging strike in the 4th minute that Sullivan superbly tipped round the post for a corner.
Following his goal, Chadwick somehow contrived to injure himself on his own, and was duly replaced by the energetic and industrious Nigel Reo-Coker. The Hammers now started to play football the way we know they can, stroking the ball all over the Park to the sound of Ole/s from the Upton Park faithful, BUT as usual the game was not killed off, and having had the rub of the green in the two previous penalty appeals, it did not take a rocket scientist to realise that the ref, who had an appalling game, would give a pen at the easiest of contacts, Lomas obliged by breathing on the obviously very talented at diving Leeds player ‘Dame’ Healey, who fell over in the box, Despite going  the right way Bywater couldn't save, goal scored, 90seconds to go, cue long unpleasant journey in the bitter cold of what proved to be a bitterly frustrating night...
Dreams, Bubbles?, ...........TOSH! More like