West Ham United and Stoke City have played out a 1-1 draw in this afternoon's Premier League clash at Upton Park.
Aaron Cresswell opened the scoring for the hosts in the seventh minute with a well-taken free kick that left Asmir Begovic stranded as it soared into the top corner.
The Potters soon got themselves back in the game and laid siege to the Hammers' goalmouth, with Marko Arnautovic twice getting the ball in the back of the net, but both efforts were disallowed for offside.
Just as it seemed like West Ham would hang onto the win, one last throw of the dice saw Ryan Shawcross's cutback bundled in by Arnautovic, and with no offside flag coming up this time, the visitors were able to celebrate coming away with a point.
Sports Mole assesses all of today's action at the Boleyn Ground to determine whether it was a fair result.
Match statistics
WEST HAM
Shots: 11
On target: 3
Possession: 35%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 17
STOKE
Shots: 18
On target: 2
Possession: 65%
Corners: 10
Fouls: 13
Was the result fair?
It would have been somewhat of a travesty if West Ham hung on for the win, because, despite playing well enough, they were second best for most of the game. Following the wonderful Cresswell free kick, the hosts didn't really offer that much going forward as Stoke upped the pressure and dominated possession. Even after half time, when the Hammers were expected to regroup, they were soon on the back foot at the Potters continued to push forward at every opportunity. You had to feel for Arnautovic, who saw not one but two goals chalked away for offside, but credit to him and his team, they pushed on right until the end and fully deserved their point.
West Ham's performance
Not worthy of winning the game, but a solid display nonetheless. Goalkeeper Adrian made an array of decent saves and organised his defence well, while the men in front of him were mostly reliable, save for Carl Jenkinson, who was the weak link for the Hammers today. The midfield also played well for the most part, though they offered little in attack, and although Enner Valencia was a constant menace going forward, Diafra Sakho had a quiet afternoon.
Stoke's performance
Begovic would have been disappointed with himself to be beaten at his side for Cresswell's opener, while Marc Wilson was second best against Sakho during his time on the pitch, but on the whole the defence was solid. The performers on the day were higher up the pitch, however, as Charlie Adam pulled the strings in midfield and Steven N'Zonzi was equally adept in front of his defence as well as pushing up, while Arnautovic was a constant menace up front and fully deserved his goal.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Aaron Cresswell: The West Ham left-back defended well all afternoon, stifling Arnautovic as best he could, and was willing to join forward to help out the attack whenever he could, and doing a good job of it too, while his free kick early in the first half was a stunning effort that will be replayed over and over again.
Biggest gaffe
West Ham's failure to hang onto the ball and to shore up their defence led to them conceding in the 95th minute, which is something that should have been avoided. If they had kept possession from that late throw-in, they would have held on for the win.
Referee performance
Roger East hardly put a foot wrong all day, having to rightfully dish out a number of cards to both sides to stop the game from boiling over, while Arnautovic's two disallowed goals were also correct calls.
What next?
West Ham: The ninth-placed Hammers travel to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday, April 19.
Stoke: The Potters, 10th in the table, welcome Southampton to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, April 18.
Giuseppe Labellarte
