George's Last Word

Our League match against Watford on March 28th appeared likely to end in a goalless draw, but the early departees had already enjoyed 89 minutes of an excellent tussle between two well-matched sides.

Those who remained to await the final whistle saw a conclusion that was one of the highlights of the season; it set the seal on an afternoon during which the Hammers regained their confidence to end a run of defeats which had brought anxiety to the Boleyn Ground.

With only seconds remaining on the referee's timepiece, George Parris picked himself out of the mud to make contact with Tony Cottee's pass and drive the ball pasl Tony Coton from 20 yards out. The Watford 'keeper had brought off some fine saves to keep us scoreless at that stage, but he had no chance to stop the Hammer's pile-driver. It was a sickening experience for the Hornets' custodian, and one could appreciate his chagrin.

That goal meant the loss of one point for Watford, but added a very valuable pair to the one for which it appeared likely we would have to settle.

It concluded a bad week for the Hertfordshire club, as several things went away for them in the days preceding their F.A. Cup Semi-Final appearance. However, they are a resilient outfit, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in their next pre-Wemb-ley test against the Spurs.

The TODAY League Division One
28-3-87
WEST HAM UNITED (0) 1
WATFORD (0) 0
Hammers: Parkes, Bonds (capt), McQueen, Gale, Strodder, Brady, Ward, McAvennie, Parris, Cottee, Robson (Dickens 45).
Scorer: Parris 91.
Watford: Coton, Gibbs, Rostron, Richardson, Simms, McClelland (capt), Bardsley, Blissett, Falco, Jackett, Porter.
Sub: Sterling.
Att: 16,485.
Referee: Jim Borrett (Norfolk).