A first step

Lee Bowyer and Luis Boa Morte were kept off the field. Alan Curbishley managed to keep out of his team's way. And Mark Noble ranged all over the pitch at St. Andrew's and buried a penalty shot, as West Ham left Birmingham with its first points of the seaon in a 1-0 win.

Bowyer and Boa Morte sat in favor of the players who came on at halftime of the Manchester City loss, Hayden Mullins and Matthew Etherington. Scott Parker and Lucas Neill remained out of the lineup with injuries. Jonathan Spector again filled in for Neill.

For me, it was my first visit in nearly four months to the Globe. TMG dropped me off around 8:45 a.m. With Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United playing on Sunday, it wasn't as packed as it was in the final weeks of last season, but there was a solid crowd on hand. The Irons were on the front TV with the sound on. I gave the Reggina scarf that I bought in Italy to the manager, and then I sat down to await the kickoff.

The first half was not pretty to watch. A couple of the accounts that I read described it as awful or dreadful or something similar. The first 15 to 20 minutes were poor for West Ham, but it was clear during that interval, too, that Birmingham weren't going to provide the fluid opposition that Manchester City did. About midway through the half, however, West Ham started to put some pressure on the Birmingham goal. New Hammer Kieron Dyer could have won a penalty in the first half when he was taken down in the box by a Birmingham defender around the half-hour mark. He darted in on a deft pass from Craig Bellamy. Noble hit the upright on a free kick taken just outside the penalty area.

West Ham continued its pressure in the second half, but they were having trouble finishing any of the chances that they created. It took a penalty call in the 70th minute to break the deadlock. Dyer returned the favor from the first half and sprung Bellamy for the run that led to the penalty with a nice diagonal ball. As Bellamy closed on the ball, Birmingham keeper Colin Doyle came off his line and slid in Bellamy's path. The disagreement is whether he got a touch on the ball before taking Bellamy out of the play.

Colin Malam in the Telegraph questioned the penalty call. (He also described Dyer's debut as "disappointing." I'd say it was a decent debut, especially for a player who signed just a few days before the match. Dyer, as I think he's always done when fit, showed great pace and creativity.) Another Telegraph writer, Martin Smith, was more complimentary of Bellamy and Dyer, noting that they picked up where they left off when both played at Newcastle. The Independent called the penalty rightly granted, and noted that "the home side survived a host of bad misses while creating precious little." John Ashdown in the Guardian also found the penalty properly granted, and he called Dyer's debut "impressive." Ashdown noted that with Dyer, Freddie Ljungberg, Scott Parker and Julien Faubert joining, West Ham has added an entire midfield and said Noble may have to work for his place in the lineup. Dyer, Ljungberg and Faubert all play on the wing, or at least prefer playing there; only Parker plays central midfield as a first choice.

Curbishley made only one substitution, bringing on Danny Gabbidon in the 82nd minute for Spector. One report last week -- in the Times, I think -- noted that Curbishley perhaps tinkered too much against Man City. The Hammers played their best football at the outset of the second half, and their improved play was keyed by Etherington, who subbed in for Boa Morte. The flow was disrupted, however, when Etherington was shifted to the backline when Dean Ashton came on. On Saturday, with his lineup clicking and the Hammers playing an opponent who played in midweek while West Ham were resting, Curbishley was wise enough to leave things alone.

Duncan Mackay in the Observer reported that Bellamy allegedly was involved with a scuffle with some Birmingham players who accused him of diving on the penalty. I did notice Bellamy having words with a few of his opponents as he left the pitch. "Just keep walking, Craiggers," I said. (I have found myself referring to him as "Craiggers" during both games so far. I don't recall whether I heard that somewhere else.) Whatever happened after they were out of camera range, West Ham were able to walk out with a win, ultimately.