West Ham v Cardiff City: live 52 min Hudson's booked for leaning into, then slide-tackling Vaz Te's shins. Nowhere near the ball. A sad tale from Steve "Silk" Curley: Weighed down by expectation? Well, Thom, it was my marriage. And I buckled under the pressure. Looking back, relegation was inevitable. At the end of the day I have to hold me hands up and admit I just wasn't good enough week in and week out. I've only myself to blame, really. But I'll take stock over the summer and do some soul searching. There'll be some changes made - there's no doubt about it. I'll do some offloading and see where I am come August. Blimey. 49 min Lansbury is on for the injured Colisson. 48 min It looks like Colisson has hurt himself. I'm gonna say wrist. He's up and walking but he looks done for and very upset. Not looking good for his play-off final prospects. 46 min Here comes a pointless second half. 17.18 Impossible to fault that West Ham performance. They've been up for it, taken their chances and have shrewdly put a lacklustre Cardiff side to the sword. A second half without any injuries will be a job well done. Cardiff's long-suffering (at least in the play-offs) support would be advised to head out of the ground, have a delicious curry somewhere and forget that any of this ever happened. 45+1 min Two added minutes in this half. 45 min Here's Kevin Nolan looking delighted after scoring the opening goal: 43 min Cardiff have a free kick around 25 yards out. Whittingham takes. Strikes it reasonably well but it's harmlessly over. West Ham 2 Cardiff 0 (Vaz Te) That'll be all, then. Demel knocks it down the left flank for Vaz Te who escapes a pathetic half-hearted jump masquerading as a challenge from McPhail and cuts into the box. He hammers it past Marshall at his near post. Emphatic finish. 38 min All looking very comfortable for West Ham. Cardiff have had most of the ball for the last three minutes, but West Ham are chasing them down, forcing them back, and eventually Marshall is put under pressure to kick out for a throw. 35 min Corner's cleared. Cardiff work it up the other end and win a corner of their own after a trademark long throw from Gunnarsson. 34 min That is a wonderful save from David Marshall. Vaz Te, wandering out to the left wing, passes inside to O'Neill on the edge of the box. He hits a curling shot superbly, with power and loads of spin. Marshall turns it round the post at full stretch. Excellent work from the keeper. 31 min Another decent delivery from Taylor but it's too quick for everyone in the box and flies out for a goal kick. Kenny Miller has been booked for dissent, and asking the referee if he could go home early, showing him a forged note from his parents. 30 min Demel impressing on the overlap. He's allowed a gigantic slice of the pitch to run into and Nolan duly finds him. He earns a corner with a pacy low ball into the box that Turner turn (er) s behind. 27 min Lawrence punts a ball upfielf vaguely in Miller's direction. Tomkins makes a mild hash of his header, but Green's out to claim it. 24 min A man named Alex Hess has made a good point on the Twitter: 20 min Demel finds Cole with a lovely diagonal ball, the very pass which seems to be causing Cardiff undue problems this afternoon. West Ham are in danger of putting this to be disappointingly early if they score another before half time. 17 min Look at that from Collison! Ball comes to him at a difficult height and while he's off balance on the left-hand side of the box. He opts to clip it first time and gently lift it above Marshall. It drops... onto the crossbar! West Ham 1 Cardiff 0 (Nolan) Excellent corner from Taylor, looks problematic as soon as it leaves his boot. Cole's on the end of it but Marshall's alert and saves well, but Nolan's stationed just in front of him and has an easy job nodding it into the back of the net. 14 min West Ham have gone and got themselves a corner, Collison sees his cross deflected behind. 11 min Green catches Carfiff's first effort on target, a Gunnarsson shot from a narrow angle. Cardiff slightly unlucky not to have a penalty for a clumsy Reid tackle on Miller. 7 min All the stars come out for the play-offs. Here's a former heroin addict who's had stints presenting for MTV and a close personal relationship with Katy Perry. And I think that's Russell Brand sat next to him. (That doesn't really work in this context, does it? I take it all back Sir Trev): 5 min Hoof, hoof, hoof. It's all a bit Sam Allardyce. Cardiff just as guilty, though. Miller almost in from a McPhail chip through the middle but it's out for a goal kick. 3 min West Ham with some vague early pressure, but nothing so decisive as a shot has been registered as yet. The sun's out in East London. Enjoy it, friends. It won't be back until August. 1 min Bubbles blown, fortune still in hiding, Cardiff kick off. 16.27 Here come the teams, we are not far from some football. 16.20 ...and now it's Sam Allardyce: All we've got to do is be confident in our own ability today. It's far from over. There's a lot of people thinking it's a foregone conclusion, but there are twists and turns in the play-offs as we've all seen over the years, we just have to make sure those twists aren't against us. 16.11 Here's Cardiff manager Malky Mackay: We've got to try and do it. We've got to go out there and get the first goal, then it's a different sort of game. I don't think it's important we score early, but it's important we start well. There's a lot of pressure on West Ham to go through tonight, they're everyone's favourites. We've got to come here and give them a game and be competitive. 15.53 Here are the teams: West Ham: Green, Demel, Taylor, Reid, Tomkins, Noble, O'Neil, Nolan, Vaz Te, Collison, Cole Subs: Henderson, McCartney, Faubert, Lansbury, Maynard Cardiff City: Marshall, McNaughton, Taylor, Hudson, Turner, Lawrence, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, McPhail, Mason, Miller Subs: Heaton, Blake, Kiss, Cowie, Earnshaw 15.30 Afternoon liveblog fans. Is this a dead rubber? It feels like it. Cardiff were rotten on Thursday, looking more like plucky but rubbish cup underdogs than a home team staging a play-off tie. Their recent record in the compeition is godawful and may have weighed heavilly on their players' and supporters' minds, but that doesn't exuse woeful shooting, tired passing and a disappointing lack of Proper Play-Off Drama. For example: where on earth was Clive Mendonca? Their manager Malky Mackay was putting a positive spin on his side's meek defeat, arguing that it puts West Ham in a "dangerous position." As dangerous positions go, leading a play-off match 2-0 before the home leg isn't exactly dangling off Everest without a rope with both of your feet frostbitten to oblivion, is it? Still, an early goal for Cardiff and we will have A Game on our hands. As it is we've just got a game on our hands. Team news and that to follow, stay tuned.