IT’S BEEN A long time since Darren Randolph featured in a Premier League game.
It was May 2007 and he started for Charlton against Liverpool in a 2-2 draw at Anfield. But he’ll get another top-flight chance on Saturday when his current employers West Ham take on Bournemouth.
With first-choice goalkeeper Adrian starting his three-game suspension following that x-rated tackle on Leicester’s Jamie Vardy last weekend, manager Slaven Bilic is prepared to give the Dubliner his chance in the spotlight.
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Speaking at his press conference earlier today, the Hammers’ boss said:
We are going to see who will play in goal. Darren is doing well and he is an experienced goalkeeper, an international, so I’m expecting him to be in goal.”
Randolph, who has two Irish caps, only joined the east London club in the summer after two seasons with Birmingham but did play in three of West Ham’s Europa League qualifiers in July and August while he’s much more experienced than 22-year-old alternative Ralph Spiegel.
Darren Randolph in action for Birmingham against Blackpool last season. Ryan Browne / EMPICS Sport
Ryan Browne / EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport
But, much has been made of how Randolph fared against Bournemouth in the Championship last season. Last October, he conceded eight goals against them in a game at St. Andrews’s while the return fixture saw the Cherries win out 4-2.
But Bilic dismissed the concerns.
“It’s very short-sighted to say he [Randolph] has a problem with Bournemouth. It happened once. When I played in Germany we beat Valencia 7-0 in the UEFA Cup, but it was once. You can’t say that we were better than Valencia as a club, so I believe in Randy. He is experienced, he is good and he played in so many games and what happened with Bournemouth could happen to anyone or to him against any other team.”
One Irish international is preparing for a huge Premier League test this weekend
IT’S BEEN A long time since Darren Randolph featured in a Premier League game.
It was May 2007 and he started for Charlton against Liverpool in a 2-2 draw at Anfield. But he’ll get another top-flight chance on Saturday when his current employers West Ham take on Bournemouth.
With first-choice goalkeeper Adrian starting his three-game suspension following that x-rated tackle on Leicester’s Jamie Vardy last weekend, manager Slaven Bilic is prepared to give the Dubliner his chance in the spotlight.
Speaking at his press conference earlier today, the Hammers’ boss said:
Randolph, who has two Irish caps, only joined the east London club in the summer after two seasons with Birmingham but did play in three of West Ham’s Europa League qualifiers in July and August while he’s much more experienced than 22-year-old alternative Ralph Spiegel.
But, much has been made of how Randolph fared against Bournemouth in the Championship last season. Last October, he conceded eight goals against them in a game at St. Andrews’s while the return fixture saw the Cherries win out 4-2.
But Bilic dismissed the concerns.
“It’s very short-sighted to say he [Randolph] has a problem with Bournemouth. It happened once. When I played in Germany we beat Valencia 7-0 in the UEFA Cup, but it was once. You can’t say that we were better than Valencia as a club, so I believe in Randy. He is experienced, he is good and he played in so many games and what happened with Bournemouth could happen to anyone or to him against any other team.”
Originally published at 3.10pm
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