Cole gives West Ham the edge

England striker Carlton Cole came off the bench to turn the League Cup semifinal back in West Ham’s favour.

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London - Substitute Carlton Cole gave West Ham United a slender advantage in their League Cup semifinal against Birmingham City, scoring the winner with the help of a goalkeeping blunder in a 2-1 first-leg win on Tuesday.

The England striker came off the bench to turn the match back in West Ham's favour when he side-footed the winner through the legs of hapless Birmingham keeper Ben Foster from Jonathan Spector's low cross with 12 minutes left at Upton Park.

City's Liam Ridgewell had cancelled out Mark Noble's early opener shortly before West Ham were reduced to 10 men when Victor Obinna was sent off just before the hour mark for a back-heeled kick on Sebastian Larsson at a throw-in.

The victory was a boost for West Ham's under-fire manager Avram Grant whose job has been the subject of media speculation since a 5-0 thrashing at Newcastle United last week sent the east London club back to the bottom of the Premier League.

The second leg at St Andrews is on January 26.

Arsenal face Championship (second division) Ipswich Town in the first leg of the other semifinal on Wednesday.

West Ham, who have never won the League Cup, dominated the first period after Noble's far post blast in the 13th minute squeezed past an unsighted Foster, whose penalty save won the competition for Manchester United two years ago.

England international Foster had kept Birmingham in the tie before halftime with several fine saves to stop West Ham adding to their lead and the second half was a complete contrast.

The visitors, fired up by a halftime pep talk from fiery Scottish manager Alex McLeish, began to push West Ham back and it was no surprise when defender Ridgewell equalised with a powerful header from Larsson's corner in the 56th minute.

Three minutes later Nigerian striker Obinna, on a season-long loan at West Ham from Inter Milan, lost his head and was rightly sent off for kicking Swedish midfielder Larsson.

Birmingham appeared to be in the driving seat but the introduction of Cole proved decisive when he stroked home the winner, leaving the distraught Foster on his knees. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/cole-gives-west-ham-the-edge-1.1010835

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