Allardyce shrugs off fans' chants as West Ham ease pressure
Peterborough United 0 West Ham United 2
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Your support makes all the difference.Listening to the 5,000 West Ham supporters who travelled to London Road chanting the name of Paolo Di Canio and repeatedly reminding Sam Allardyce theirs is a club that "plays on the floor", it was hard to imagine that even if he takes them up, the former Bolton centre-half will become one of the club's longer-serving managers.
"I'm sick of all that rubbish, it keeps rearing its head," said Allardyce, with some justification after his side had out-played Peterborough in the second-half to end a run of five successive draws to move within a point of Reading, currently occupying the second automatic promotion position.
"I can't do anything about it, so I don't let it affect me," said Allardyce. "We keep out-playing teams, so the facts speak for themselves. "
West Ham meet Reading at Upton Park on Saturday in a game that will go a long way towards deciding which of the two avoids the purgatory of the play-offs.
The Hammers may have been boosted by the returns from injury of Abdoulaye Faye and Ricardo Vaz Te, but it was Peterborough who made the early running. Lee Tomlin came close to putting them ahead in the first minute, but not as close as Paul Taylor, whose 25 yard drive shortly before the quarter hour came back off the top of Robert Green's crossbar.
West Ham began to see more of the ball as the half progressed, Vaz Te on the right in particular. To the frustration of lone striker Carlton Cole, though, the winger's delivery was poor. Peterborough seemed certain to go in ahead when Tyrone Barnett nodded the ball back to George Boyd, but with Green out of position, James Tomkins made a great block.
Its importance was emphasised six minutes into the second half when Taylor delivered a cross to the far post, and Vaz Te's less than powerful header somehow made it's way past Jones and inside the post. Six minutes later, Gary O'Neil picked up possession and from around 25 yards curled a shot beyond Jones, and West Ham were coasting.
Peterborough United (4-1-3-2): Jones; Alcock, Zakuani (Little, 62), Brisley, Rowe; McCann: Frecklington (Kearns, 88), Tomlin (Sinclair, 62), Boyd; P Taylor, Barnett. Substitutes not used Lewis, Little, Ball.
West Ham United (4-4-1-1): Green; O'Brien (Faubert, 46), Tomkins, Faye, McCartney; Vaz Te, Noble, O'Neil (Maynard, 88), M Taylor; Nolan; Cole. Substitutes not used Baldock, Carew, Collins.
Referee C Sarginson (Staffordshire).
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