West Ham’s Bilic praises impact of Andy Carroll

Palace had Dwight Gayle sent off a minute before the break, and Lanzini and Payet struck at the end to make it 13 points from five away league games in 2015-16 – the best record in the division. I said to him at half time there are consequences to that, we’re down to 10 man and the boy is suspended.

Alan Pardew praised the resilience of his players following Gayle’s red card, with Cabaye leading by example in the middle of the pitch.

Goals: Jenkinson 23, Lanzini 88, Payet 92.

West Ham are waiting on the fitness of Aaron Cresswell and Winston Reid, both of whom are nursing injuries.

Just before the half-time break, though, the feisty nature of the game claimed its first victim, Gayle receiving a second yellow for a bad foul on Cheikhou Kouyate. The ball comes in and Payet makes a lunge for it six yards out and if he gets a proper connection then that could well go in but he can’t get the touch and it amounts to nothing.

“I know I have my part to play and I’ll do that to the best of my ability for as long as I can”.

Andy Carroll headed fellow substitute Mauro Zarate’s cross back across goal and Lanzini was on hand to smash the ball in with two minutes left.

And manager Bilic, who was centre-back during his playing career and turned out for the Croatia national team, has said that a forward of Carroll’s calibre is a hard proposition for defenders.

Yet it was summer signings Lanzini and Payet who made the difference against a dogged, 10-man Palace. We were brilliant in the second half but they still managed to find a way.

“What we are trying to do, our target, is to play good football, to be solid and defend with numbers and attack with numbers and that is going to create more chances and more goals and get more points”. He is skilful and he has good vision. You can’t stop expectation from fans because if you stop it you will be losing them. But our target is to stay in the league.

West Ham are unbeaten in their four games away from the Boleyn Ground so far this season, with a 2-2 draw following three famous consecutive away victories against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City respectively. “It is still early days and not late May”.