Jarrod Bowen’s last-gasp penalty at the London Stadium in late October gave us our third successive Premier League home success over Manchester United. After years of pain during the Sir Alex Ferguson era, our recent success is the just dessert that the West Ham faithful needed after decades of mickey-taking in office blocks and school playgrounds from people who couldn’t even point out Manchester on the map.
So, I will take you on a trip down memory lane on the good, the bad and the ugly fixtures between the Red Devils and the Hammers.
December 29th 2007: West Ham United 2-1 Manchester United
With 14 wins already under their belts heading into January, the visitors looked like they were sure to be Champions again under Fergie. With superstars like the returning Carlos Tevez, who was greeted with a hero’s reception by the home faithful, Ryan Giggs, and Cristiano Ronaldo, it was safe to say those at Upton Park weren’t expecting what would unfold.
It looked like it was going with the script when Ronaldo nodded past Robert Green in the 14th minute despite our early dominance. It would seemingly look like it would be a done deal and United’s 15th Premier League win when referee Mike Dean pointed for a Manchester United penalty midway through the second half. Up stepped Portuguese wonder boy Ronaldo, who unexpectedly scuffed his penalty wide of the post to galvanise the Upton Park faithful and the players were roared on.
We continued to apply pressure as we hunted for the equaliser, and we were duly rewarded when Anton Ferdinand planted a header in the bottom corner. The momentum had entirely swung towards us, and we deservedly took the lead when Matthew Upson made it a hat-trick of headed goals to seal a memorable home win under the lights.
West Ham United 1-1 Manchester United – May 14th 1995
The day a man from near Moscow wrote himself into West Ham folklore. With Manchester United needing to secure a win and hope Blackburn lost at Anfield to secure the title, they were met by a Czech Wall between the West Ham sticks. The Hammers, fresh from securing our top-flight safety the weekend before, started the brighter and hit the woodwork early. We weren’t to be denied, though, as Michael Hughes drilled a volley past Schmeichel to give us a deserved lead.
That seemed to spark life into the visitors who struck the post through Andy Cole just before the break. Ludo produced a stunning save to thwart Lee Sharpe early in the second half but could do little to stop Brian McClair’s unmarked header from nestling into the net.
The away end had heard that their arch-rivals Liverpool had done them a favour at Anfield, and Ferguson’s men knew a second goal would hand them the title. Miklosko had other ideas, though, as he denied Mark Hughes and Andy Cole with stupendous stops, and we held on for a memorable draw to be the toast of Ewood Park.
Manchester United 0-1 West Ham United – May 13th 2007
Alan Curbishley’s men seemed down and out following our heartbreaking 3-4 defeat at home to Tottenham in March. But a run of wins, including successes at the Emirates and home wins against Bolton and Everton, thanks mainly to Bobby Zamora, Rob Green and Carlos Tevez, ensured we took our chances of Premier League survival to the final day.
The only problem was that we had to travel to newly crowned Champions Manchester United in front of a jubilant Old Trafford crowd. Indeed, the West Ham team clapped their hosts as they walked through a guard of honour before the game. But you felt that we were confident following our recent run of form.
We started brightly, too, showing plenty of bravery and willingness to attack. However, we struggled to break down the United defence, and it was United that had the better chances, with Wayne Rooney guilty of missing a simple opportunity. Yossi Benayoun turned defensive hero before the break, clearing a goal-bound effort off the line and then charging out to block Kieran Richardson’s effort on the rebound.
We then went on to break the deadlock right on the stroke of half-time. The controversial Carlos Tevez delivered the goods again; he received a ball from Bobby Zamora and calmly slotted the ball into the corner to spark scenes of joy in the away end at Old Trafford. We were halfway there.
Midway through the second period, Sir Alex wanted to test us further, making a triple substitution that would send the heebegeebes through any side, with Ronaldo, Scholes and Giggs all striding onto the Old Trafford pitch. Further chances came for the hosts, but there was a defiance that was missing earlier in the season in our ranks, and we stood firm to grab a deserved win and completed our Harry Houdini act.
West Ham United 3-2 Manchester United – May 10th 2016
It was almost as if the script had already been written, and the fairytale ending was that Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side had enjoyed a magnificent final season at the Boleyn Ground. Chasing Champions League football, we faced the Red Devils at home in our final fixture at Upton Park.
It’s a day that many of us will never forget. From the packed pubs, to the streets lined with thousands upon thousands of people just trying to say goodbye to what was their spiritual home. I vividly remember that final walk from the Black Lion pub, through the allotments, down the side road and into a sea of claret and blue on the Barking Road.
Rumours had already been swirling about a delayed kick-off due to the hoards of supporters and the fact that Manchester United thought they could turn up at their regular time, failing to consider the blocked roads in the east end of London. It felt like something special was brewing. The atmosphere was crackling inside the ground as everyone took in their surroundings for the final time. They spoke to the person they had gotten to know around them over the years, potentially for the final time, reminiscing of the good old days.
I was lucky enough to share the experience with my dad, who had been sitting in the Chicken Run on and off for 50-odd years; I know how hard it was for him to say goodbye that day. Fittingly, the game lived up to the billing, a real ding-dong affair played in a deafening atmosphere.
Diafra Sakho opened the scoring to the delight of fans inside and the fans still outside the ground desperately trying to be a part of the day. The atmosphere only marginally suffered as Antony Martial’s two goals gave the visitors a lead. Surely we weren’t going to lose our last two home fixtures? Were we?
The game swivelled on its head again as the wizard Dimi Payet delivered two absolute peaches into the box. Firstly for Michail Antonio to head home to lift the roof off the stadium. Four minutes later, the Boleyn shook as Winston Reid flicked a header goalwards, leaving David De Gea scrambling. He must have read the script as he palmed the ball into the back of the net to spark a wild scene of delight in the stands.
It was an extraordinary night that will likely never be topped; maybe those lucky enough to be in Prague will say otherwise. But I don’t think I’ll ever experience a night like that again.
West Ham United 1-2 Manchester United – April 13th 2016
After being robbed a couple of weeks earlier at Old Trafford, a sublime Payet free-kick gave the travelling away masses a moment to dream of a day out at Wembley. We welcomed United back to fortress Upton Park with the home faithful confident of brushing our visitors aside to continue our fairytale season.
Following an even first half, Manchester United silenced the home faithful as 18-year-old Marcus Rashford curled home delightfully past Darren Randolph to give the visitors a one-nothing lead. 13-minutes later, it seemed like our FA Cup dreams were over for another year as Marouane Fellaini doubled the Red Devils lead, bundling in from close range.
That seemingly sparked life into us as we laid siege to David De Gea’s goal. The Spaniard superbly stopped Antonio’s goal-bound effort, only for James Tomkins to bravely stoop and nod in the rebound to give us hope. We continued to press for an equaliser, and De Gea denied Andy Carroll and Cheikhou Kouyate. We thought we had forced extra time when Kouyate stabbed in from close range, only to be stopped in our tracks by the linesman’s flag.
Louie Van Gaal’s men held on to reach the FA Cup semi-final, which they would later win. We have had much worse defeats in our time. Why is this the only “bad” you have mentioned, David? I hear you cry. Our route to the FA Cup would’ve been Everton and Crystal Palace. With Payet and co, we’d have easily beaten those two and had another trophy in our cabinet.
Manchester United 6-0 West Ham United – January 26th 2003
With a squad blessed with the talent of Di Canio, Defoe, Carrick, Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair and David James, we would be hopeful of putting aside our Premier League struggles to bring some joy to the beleaguered West Ham faithful.
A trip to star-studded Manchester United made that dream seem unlikely. But as ever, the Claret and Blue always travel with a semblance of hope. A Ryan Giggs double in the first 30 minutes brought a familiar dread to those who had travelled. It only got worse as Fergie’s men flexed their muscles further after the half-time interval with three goals in nine second-half minutes, even blooming Phil Neville scored.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added a sixth in the 69th minute to add more woes to the travelling irons. It was just one further humiliation in a season of disasters, as we were relegated with a record 42 points.
Manchester United 7 – 1 West Ham United – April 1st 2000.
In modern football, there is such a high degree of hyperbole, particularly with social media. For example, our 0-0 draw against Everton was dubbed our worst-ever performance by some quarters of the West Ham faithful. I would point you in the direction of this fixture in 2000.
Perhaps the most surprising detail of this result is that up until the 24th minute, we led 1-0 through Paulo Wanchope’s 11th-minute strike. By the 26th minute, United had turned the game around and led 2-1, thanks to goals from Paul Scholes and Denis Irwin.
Remember that this was a West Ham team with future England internationals Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard as well as Trevor Sinclair, Freddie Kanoute, and Wanchope. It wasn’t a poor West Ham side. That makes the second-half capitulation that much worse. Of course, this was a Manchester United side in their prime with Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, Cole, Sheringham, and, as usual, the 12th man, the referee, who gave the hosts every possible decision on the day.
Conceding seven goals on any given day is unacceptable, though, especially five in the second half, with Scholes completing a hat-trick, Beckham scoring a dubiously given free-kick, Andy Cole, and Gunnar Solskjaer completing the rout.
I hope this little trip down memory lane reminds you that we’ve always had extreme highs and crushing lows throughout history. So keep the faith, keep believing and keep blowing those bubbles.
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