It proved a costly miss, for Stoke were level in the 54th minute thanks to a fine low shot from Giannelli Imbula, the pounds 18.3 million record signing.
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Although the scenes before the eventual kick-off took some of the shine away from events on the pitch, West Ham ended their 112-year stay at Upton Park on Tuesday in the flawless fashion, making full use of their strength from set-pieces and the big-game atmosphere created to deservedly get the better of Manchester United.
Ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham bid farewell to Upton Park in style on Tuesday by coming from behind to defeat Manchester United 3-2 and move to within a point of Louis van Gaal’s side.
It means West Ham will only qualify for the Europa League if United beat Crystal Palace in next Saturday’s FA Cup final.
Bilic admitted to being frustrated by the fact that his side didn’t made their dominance count after they had gone in front.
“Thanks for your support this special season for me personally and the West Ham family, have a great summer and we will see you at the OS”, he tweeted.
“Even in the second half, we had that massive chance for Sakho when Shay Given pulled off a great save, but he should have scored”.
“If we win the game we will be happy, definitely, because we will be sixth minimum, fifth possibly if Manchester United slip, or fourth if Manchester City lose 25-0!”
“Unfortunately, it was not possible for him to play this game so we have no Payet”.
West Ham was known for having an organized group of hostile supporters called the “Inter City Firm”, which was active mostly in the ’70s and ’80s and at away games.
Mame Diouf subsequently wrapped up Stoke’s come-from-behind triumph with an 88th-minute header.
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West Ham took the lead when a corner was flicked on by Winston Reid towards Antonio, who turned and fired home as the Stoke defence stood statuesque. A hectic period then saw Stoke clear the ball off the line a number of times in quick succession as West Ham caused chaos in their area.
