There were lots of Irish players on show last night at Upton Park, and they made their presence felt with both goals.
West Ham v Stoke didn’t look to be the most appealing Monday Night Football game Sky ever put on. But with lots of Irish lads on both teams we settled down to watch. We hope Giovanni Trapattoni did too as two of his players found the net in the 1-1 draw.
First off the mark was Jonathan Walters, who scored a super goal for Stoke. A Glenn Whelan corner, that came straight off the training ground, was finished smartly by Walters but that description doesn’t do justice to the cleverness of the goal.
Walters was initially at the back post, seemingly waiting for a header before he ran all the way around the huddle of players to meet Whelan’s cross unmarked about 12 yards out from the front post. Even then he needed to connect perfectly first time to score and Walters was up to the task. It was a really class goal.
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The equaliser, via Joey O’Brien, wasn’t quite as special as the full back sidefooted home from close range in the second half after a low cross by Gary O’Neil.
It was especially good to see O’Brien back in the goals after his many injury problems in recent years. Let’s hope both Irish lads can keep their form up.
