Sam Allardyce hailed his West Ham side after they claimed a 2-0 win over Cardiff City in their Championship play-off semi-final first leg.
West Ham boss delighted with win in South Wales
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce hailed his side's performance after they claimed a 2-0 win over Cardiff City in their Championship play-off semi-final first leg.
The Hammers travelled to South Wales and came away with a huge victory courtesy of two first-half strikes from Jack Collison.
And Allardyce was full of plaudits for his men after their performance against Cardiff.
"We were excellent, we asked the lads to control their emotions on a big night like this, not to cause a problem for ourselves and I thought they handled the pressure excellently and played very well indeed," he told
Sky Sports.
"Tactically we did everything right and nullified Cardiff to minimal chances on their own ground and getting forward was outstanding and chances were created, scored and a lot missed.
"It has been a great night for us and it is only 90 minutes of a two-legged affair and anything could still happen, the onus is on us to see it through and there is no pressure on Cardiff and mentally we have to be right for it."
Allardyce felt his players stood up to their task mentally as well as physically, adding: "It is a fantastic night and one where the players have handled the pressure extremely well and performed very well."
Confidence
The Hammers boss insists that he came into the game full of confidence and expecting a win.
"On the basis of how well we have been playing I would have been disappointed if we had not played like we did tonight and carried on as we have been playing away from home," he said,
"The clean sheet and two goals is everything we have been looking for and it is a great contribution from all the players.
"We knew two-nil down they would put us under some pressure, but we are really pleased and not getting too carried away."
Allardyce insists that West Ham's indifferent home form is not an issue, saying: "Only in terms of draws, we have only lost four and are now in a position if we don't lose we go through but we want to win and get that level of performance again and try and win the game.
"But the bottom line is to make sure we are through into the final after 90 minutes."
