Ibanez piles the pressure on struggling Hammers
WEST HAM 2 vs WEST BROM 2
WEST HAM remain rooted to the bottom of the table after Pablo Ibanez’s strike 20 minutes from time helped West Brom snatch a point from Upton Park.
With Blackpool coming to town on Saturday, manager Avram Grant would have hoped to have boosted his side’s survival chances with maximum points from successive home games against newly promoted sides. But Albion have been making a decent fist of life in the Premier League and they stunned Upton Park in the 38th minute when summer signing Peter Odemwingie scored from the spot after Luis Boa Morte bundled over Steven Reid in the penalty area.
Captain Scott Parker equalised five minutes later with a rasping 25-yard drive – his fifth goal of an increasingly impressive season.
And a first home league win since September looked to be on the cards when Frederic Piquionne put the Hammers ahead from the spot at the start of the second half.
But Ibanez had the last laugh, powering home Chris Brunt’s deep cross at the far post.
Rodallega ruins Liverpool’s run
HUGO RODALLEGA’S second-half leveller prevented Liverpool from recording a fourth straight league win. Fernando Torres had stroked the Merseysiders ahead, but the Colombian’s 52nd minute effort earned Wigan a deserved 1-1 draw. Liverpool’s local rivals, Everton, required a 94th minute Jermaine Beckford strike to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton, who had taken the lead 11 minutes from the end through Ivan Klasnic. Andy Carroll kept his goalscoring run going for Newcastle, but couldn’t prevent the Magpies slipping to a 2-1 home defeat by Blackburn – Jason Roberts scoring the winner. Finally, James Collins was the unlikely hero as Aston Villa beat Blackpool by the odd goal in five.