Maybe Avram Grant should stay away more often. Pointless and stuck at the wrong end of the table, West Ham United's season finally lifted off with a deserved draw on the afternoon that their manager was away observing the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.Grant had travelled up from London with the team to be "close by" and would receive regular debriefs regarding how his team were faring, we were told. The scrappy opening gambits exchanged with Stoke City suggested this might be the day his team would offer Grant and their fans something to celebrate.The proviso was that Robert Green had to markedly improve his handling. Yet the evidence offered throughout was of another unwanted, in-game-crisis enveloping him. Last weekend the erstwhile England keeper's disastrous fumble led to Chelsea's second in his team's 3-1 defeat. Today, when Jermaine Pennant floated in a diagonal free-kick to the left of the West Ham area, another Green blunder spilled the ball into Robert Huth's path, and the visitors and their goalkeeper were fortunate that Huth could only hit the post.This provoked the home support to regale the 30-year-old with: "Nice one Greeny, nice one son, nice one Greeny, let's have another one." But the Stoke fans were soon on the receiving end of mocking chants when West Ham took the lead.Valon Behrami won a free-kick near Stoke's left corner flag. Victor Obinna's delivery came curving into the area and when Rory Delap's attempted clearance crashed the ball against Ryan Shawcross's head, Scott Parker scrambled home.West Ham might have acquired all three points and the full dose of much needed morale had Federic Piquionne's shot not crashed against Thomas Sorensen's bar moments later.Instead fortune and Green's nervy form continued to thwart Grant and his team and, three minutes into the second half, Stoke had their equaliser.Pennant's sweetly hanging cross will again call Green's judgment into question as it should have been his to deal with. Instead it was the in-rushing Kenwyne Jones who was more decisive, and his close-range header completed business.Later, Green made some amends by forcing a Jones shot on to his left post before a late Ricardo Fuller header bounced up and off the bar with Green beaten. This was a bad day for the keeper but a better one for his club and Grant. He now has a much-needed foundation to build on.Premier LeagueStoke CityWest Ham UnitedJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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