Football: Bent's worth chance, Sven

ALAN CURBISHLEY insists Darren Bent can force his way into Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad for Germany next summer after his man of the match display ended Charlton's miserable run.

Bent, 21, set up the Sean Bartlett for the opening goal against West Ham before finishing off a sweeping move with his 10th League goal of the season.

"When Bent's in front of goal, we expect him to score," said Curbishley. "He is that good.

"Sven obviously has certain players in mind, but if he is looking for something a little bit extra, Bent can score so many different types of goals."

Charlton's recent poor run has seen them slip from second to mid- table, after having lost four of their last five games.

A relieved Curbishley admitted his side needed the victory and called on his players to go on a winning run as they prepare to face Everton tomorrow.

"The recent run as been hard to take and hard to work out why," he said. "I feel as if we are second from bottom, and so do a lot of people around the club, when in reality we are only a point behind West Ham.

"Maybe now we can put some wins together and that will bring the confidence back."

West Ham were quickest out of the blocks as they laid siege to the Charlton goal from the kick-off, forcing eight corners in the opening 20 minutes.

Skipper Nigel Reo-Coker, Shaun Newton and Marlon Harewood all missed decent chances to opening the scoring and continue their excellent away record that had seen them lose only three games in 10 previous games on the road.

"The first goal was all important," said West Ham boss Alan Pardew. "We had so many chances in the opening 20 minutes but couldn't score."

West Ham were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge when they were punished by a classic counter attack.

Bent broke clear down the right and fed the lurking Barlett at the far post, who crashed the ball home off the underside of the bar.

The goal certainly came against the run of play and it breathed new life into Charlton as they then took control.

"Once they scored it was very difficult for us to come back, because they showed their experience at this level by shutting up shop," added Pardew. "Unfortunately, after that we petered out."

The game was put beyond any doubt when Bent doubled Charlton's lead midway through the second half, rounding off a superb move with an unstoppable header.

Bartlett shielded the ball perfectly in the West Ham box before feeding Chris Powell on the wing.

The former Hammers defender, who played a big part in their promotion run last season, swung in a pinpoint cross which picked out Bent's late run and he powered his header past Roy Carroll.

When these sides last met, in the 2002-3 season, Charlton's Claus Jensen scored in both games - a 4-2 win at The Valley and a 2-0 victory at Upton Park

MAN OF THE MATCH

DARREN BENT

Was the difference between the two teams, setting up the first goal, scoring the second, and unlucky not to score more.

RATINGS

CHARLTON: Myhre 8, Young 7, Fortune 6, Hreidarsson 8, Powell 7, Rommedahl 8, Holland 8, Kisheshev 5, Hughes 7, BENT 9, Bartlett 8.

WEST HAM: Carroll 8, Dailly 3 (Benayoun 5), Ferdinand 7, Collins 4, Konchesky 5, Newton 7, Mullins 4, Reo-Coker 8, Etherington 5, Harewood 7, Aliadiere 4 (Bellion 4).

MANAGERS: Curbishley 7; Pardew 6

REFEREE: G Poll 5

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