We need to start scoring again, says Allardyce

LONDON (Reuters) - West Ham United must start scoring more freely again and tighten up defensively when they face Everton in an FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday, manager Sam Allardyce said on Monday.

We need to start scoring again, says Allardyce

(Reuters)





The teams drew 1-1 at Goodison Park last week and Allardyce is looking to guide his team to a first win in six matches.

West Ham took the lead in their last three games against West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Swansea City but were pegged back to 1-1 on each occasion.

"It's a concern, we are not as free scoring as we were," Allardyce told a news conference. "The results have dipped a bit but the performances haven't.

"One thing that has to happen is we get to more resilient defensively. We're becoming a much more creative side but our defensive weaknesses have been exploited too much.

"In order to win football games you need to make sure you're strong enough in both departments.

"We've only had four clean sheets so far and that's not good enough to keep you in the top six."

West Ham have slipped back to seventh in the Premier League but Everton are on an even worse run having lost four and drawn two of their last six matches.

They needed a last-minute equaliser from Romelu Lukaku to rescue a 1-1 draw against the Hammers at Goodison last week but gave an improved performance to draw 1-1 with Manchester City on Saturday.

Everton are 12th in the table but will take heart from a good recent record at Upton Park where they have lost just once in their last nine league and Cup games since 2002-03.

Allardyce missed Saturday's draw at Swansea with a chest infection but said he felt better after seeing Andy Carroll's stunning goal from the edge of the box.

"I had it live on a stream," he said. "It was a fantastic piece of skill and a brilliant finish from the time he first touched it to the shot."









(Reporting by Mike Collett, editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world