The first half got off to a good start with both sides pressing on in the early stages, with the opening goal of the game coming after just 15 minutes. It was Jarvis who was integral in the goal for West Ham as the lively winger beat his man with his trademark knock on before whipping in a ball to in-form Andy Carroll who nodded the ball across the face of the Premier League leader's goal, putting the ball on a plate for Ricardo Vaz Te to open the scoring with an emphatic diving header, the ball finding its way into the net following a fortunate bounce off of a clambering United defender.
The Irons began to sit back as Alex Ferguson's men pressed the West Ham defence, but solid displays from the West Ham back four who kept them at bay. United, however, didn't stop there and pressed, banging at goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen's door time after time.
After 30 minutes, a dazzling run from Dutch international Robin Van Persie sent West Ham centre half James Collins to the floor with embarrassment as the Red Devils star slipped the ball through his legs. Van Persie kept the ball in after scraping the byline, and much like West Ham's goal, the ball was laid on a plate, as all Antonio Valencia needed to do was slot the equaliser in.
Towards the end of the half, the game became somewhat fraught with poor tackles from both West Ham captain Kevin Nolan and United's Wayne Rooney. The England striker was lucky to stay out of the book after a sly kick on Carroll, who was in the thick of things moments later, knocking United keeper David De Gea to the ground and requiring treatment on a head injury.
A physical feud was now developing between Carroll and the United defence and the on loan striker was in the action again as he and De Gea clashed for a second time following another robust challenge from Carroll, following which Nolan smashed the ball into the net before it was disallowed.
The momentum was now with the Hammers and a beautiful volley from outside the area, by that man Carroll almost gave West Ham their lead back, but the ball sailed into the United side netting.
However, they regained their advantage moments later as powerhouse midfielder Mohammed Diame spun off Reds skipper Nemanja Vidic before unleashing a perfect, curling, left footed strike into the bottom corner, sending the Upton Park faithful into ecstasy. West Ham didn't stop there however, and pushed on for a third, putting the league leaders firmly on the back foot.
However, as we've seen so often in football, games can change in an instant. United found some energy from somewhere and it took two fine stops from Jaaskelainen and a goal line clearance from centre half Winston Reid, all in the space of 10 minutes, to keep the score at 2-1.
As in all four meetings between the two sides this season, the games was becoming a pitched battle with both sides 'fighting like beavers', as Chris Kamara would put it, and although underdogs, West Ham battled like a title chasing side. Their visitors were becoming anxious with less than 20 minutes left on the clock and resorted for a period to a series of long balls and boss Alex Ferguson decided to withdraw star man Rooney, while Sam Allardyce gave midfielder Mark Noble his long-awaited return from injury as he replaced the industrious Gary O'Neil.
Finally, it happened. A sublime long range strike from midfielder Shinji Kagawa hit Jaaskelainen's left post and ricocheted across goal before falling for a seemingly offside Van Persie, and the United man powered the equaliser into the roof of the net in typically lethal fashion.With ten minutes to go, the wind appeared to be taken out of the Hammers' sails, but Allardyce made two uncharacteristically attacking substitutions, bringing on winger Matt Taylor and creative midfielder Jack Collison for
Javier Hernandez came agonisingly close for the visitors with 9 minutes to go, as he headed the ball down in front of goal the goal, however Jaaskelainen was there to save the day once more with a great stop.
A very tense end to the game rounded off an evenly battled contest, with the 2-2 draw in all probability a fair reflection of what was a brilliant game with much to shout about and excellent viewing for a live television audience.
Match report by Ben Edkins
@benedkins12
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