For once, West Ham made it past lower league opposition,
but they will still view the Carling Cup as a cursed competition
after Kieron Dyer was carried off in agony with a suspected double
fracture of his right leg. Manager Alan Curbishley was furious at
Bristol Rovers midfielder Joe Jacobson over the ninth minute tackle
which has probably ended Dyer's season just three games after
arriving from Newcastle for £6million.
The England man barely moved on the ground following the challenge
which angered the West Ham players and overshadowed an efficient
victory that came courtesy of the class of Craig Bellamy.
Curbishley said: 'Fifteen minutes in, the game was immaterial when
you get a serious injury like that. The Rovers player has to be
very disappointed with his challenge. As far as I could see, he
lashed out after losing the ball and caught Kieron and that's what
you get. 'We're devastated for Kieron. I can't put it into words
really. Everyone in the dressing room is really down. You put a
strong side out in this competition and you wonder why sometimes.
'The luck's against us. I'm sitting here with £20million of players
out injured in Julien Faubert, Freddie Ljungberg, Scott Parker and
now Dyer. At this moment in time we're treading on eggshells. It's
a little bit delicate.'
Jacobson was defended by Rovers boss Paul Trollope, who moved
quickly to defuse the bad feeling that hung around after a game
that was otherwise pleasing on the eye. Trollope said: 'It's a very
unfortunate incident and our thoughts are with Kieron Dyer. From
our point of view it was a foul. Joe swung his leg back to try to
win the ball and that was it. 'It looks like a serious injury and
you don't wish that on anyone, but the stories that have come out
from the other camp that it was a malicious tackle are wide of the
mark. Joe's not that type of player, he's an honest lad and we're
not that type of club to tell our players to do that.'
On the positive side for West Ham, a team who have made an art form
of losing to lowly opposition in cup competitions were rarely
troubled once Bellamy had produced the first of two pieces of
exquisite skill. Playing only because Dean Ashton had rushed off to
be with his partner who had gone into labour, the Wales captain
picked the ball up in midfield on the halfhour, drove into the
space afforded him by the Rovers defence, sized up his target and
struck a shot unerringly into the bottom corner from 30
yards.
Within 60 seconds, Bellamy ought to have sealed the Premier League
side's passage into round three with a free header from eight yards
that he could only guide into the arms of the grateful Steve
Phillips.
