Hartlepool 0 West Ham United 2

West Ham Ease Past Hartlepool To Side-Step Banana Skin by Graham Chase

West Ham United are used to living with a sense that crisis could strike at any time, yet Gianfranco Zola, the manager, continues to rise above the uncertainties and has steered his team to a six-match unbeaten run. The present worry is that, like Craig Bellamy, the insistence that Scott Parker will not be sold to Manchester City will be followed quickly by him posing in a sky blue shirt. Having had four clubs in five years, the midfield player is in familiar territory, but said: “If someone rings me and says, ‘We’re selling you’, then I can’t do anything about that. But I’m enjoying myself and feel I’m playing some good stuff.”... Times

Hammers Beat Unlucky Hartlepool by Nick Townsend

In the middle ages, when shipping was such a thriving industry in Hartlepool, piracy was rife. Gianfranco Zola’s team could not have been more chillingly efficient than those pirates if they had arrived armed to the teeth with cutlasses, boarded a treasure-laden galleon at anchor, dispatched the crew and made off with the spoils... Sunday Times

West Ham Progress Aided By Disputed Penalty by Graham Chase

It was about as magical as a trip to the Morrisons next to Victoria Park but West Ham continued their recent improvement by overcoming stout resistance to record a routine victory over their League One opponents... Sunday Telegraph

Noble Spot On For Hammers To End Hopes Of Hartlepool by Bob Cass

Hartlepool had their moment in the spotlight but dominant West Ham never looked like becoming the League One side's third Premier League cup victims this season. West Ham did not need any help to overcome opposition from two leagues below them, but they received it anyway when referee Lee Mason awarded them a penalty in first-half added time... Mail on Sunday

Zola Ready For Fresh Journey To Final Frontier by Michael Walker

Gianfranco Zola spoke in the build-up to this tie of seeing his father on the King's Road in May 1997 straining to witness his son take part in Chelsea's celebrations for winning the FA Cup just six months after Zola joined the club. "I remember my father was climbing up a lamp post to try to get a view of the bus," Zola said... Independent

Parker Is Paramount As Hammers Strike by Louise Taylor

It would be fascinating to watch Scott Parker star in a football version of the film Sliding Doors. The 1998 film portrays how the life of Gwyneth Paltrow's heroine hinges on whether the doors of a London tube train slide shut on her or remain open until she boards the train. These two scenarios are played out in parallel and the same format would surely work if 'Sliding Clubs' became a big screen extravaganza. In the 2009 version, cinema goers could see just how Parker's career might have unfolded had West Ham sanctioned his mooted £12m move to Manchester City... Guardian