West Ham United 1 Barnsley 0: Diop pops up to dent Barnsley’s surge as Hill defends principles

Keith Hill launched a staunch defence of his footballing principles following Barnsley’s 1-0 defeat at West Ham.

A Hammers side missing a host of players through injury and suspension clung on to Papa Bouba Diop’s early goal to send the Tykes to a second successive defeat. Hill, though, is not about to stop playing free-flowing football despite his side failing to trouble goalkeeper Robert Green throughout the clash.

Hill and opposite number Sam Allardyce are friends of old but clearly share different philosophies when it comes to football.

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“We were foraging for a point, but I won’t go to direct, percentage football,” he said. “It’s killing English football and I won’t resort to it.”

Allardyce showed he is up for the fight as his West Ham side battled to victory with.

To add to their woes they lost Abdoulaye Faye in the warm-up and John Carew and Julien Faubert to injuries during the match. And Allardyce’s frustration boiled over when he was sent to the stand having protested once too often about referee Scott Mathieson.

Allardyce felt Fredi Piquionne and Freddie Sears could have had penalties while he was furious with Jim O’Brien’s challenge on 17-year-old debutant Daniel Potts. The Hammers boss kicked out at some plastic bottles on the touchline and had to watch the last seven minutes of the match with the fans behind the dug-out

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He said: “The most disappointing thing for me was the challenge on Potts. It was reckless and dangerous.”

Diop’s goal was his first in English football since he scored for Fulham six years ago to the day, launching himself through the air to meet Mark Noble’s corner and crash in a header.

West Ham: Green, Faubert (Lansbury 67), Tomkins, Potts, McCartney, Noble, Diop,Nolan, Piquionne,Carew (Sears 56),Cole. Unused substitutes: Stech, Montenegro, Driver.

Barnsley: Steele, Wiseman, Edwards, McNulty, McEveley, Ranger (Haynes 67), Perkins, Addison, Vaz Te (O’Brien 66), Butterfield, Davies. Unused substitutes: Preece, Hassell, Foster.

Referee: Scott Mathieson (Cheshire). Man of the match: Mark Noble.