Burton Albion v West Ham United XI
Pre-season friendly
Pirelli Stadium
Saturday 23 July 2010
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: A.Woolmer
Final score - Burton Albion 4-2 West Ham United XI
91 mins - Just a few seconds past the 90 minute-mark and the referee blows the final whistle. The PA announcer wishes West Ham luck in the Premier League this season and the travelling fans a safe journey home. Good on him. That was an entertaining game of football and Dyer's youngsters have nothing to be ashamed of. Not only did they work hard, but they scored two fine goals against a full-strength Football League side. That's all for now from the Pirelli Stadium, but make sure you keep a close eye on whufc.com for exclusive reaction to today's match.
90 mins - Into the final minute of the 90 and Young threatens to score a fifth for the Brewers, running at the West Ham defence before lobbing Wessels but seeing his shot clear the crossbar.
88 mins - McNaughton is forced to concede a corner. Young takes the same player heads the ball clear of the penalty area.
87 mins - Maghoma has to go off, so Burton will finish with ten men.
86 mins - GOAL! How often does that happen? Burton break out from the back, with Young finding Harrad who cuts inside a defender and beats Wessels with a low shot.
86 mins - Super strike from Purdy, whose effort is heading for the top right-hand corner before Legzdins dives full-length to push it out for a corner.
85 mins - Former Hammer Greg Pearson is the man of the match. The free-kick is actually 30 yards out, so shooting is an option.
84 mins - Wearen is fouled about 35 yards out. Purdy will fancy doing something with this. The Irish youngster works hard on his set pieces. First, though, Maghoma needs a bit of treatment from the physio.
83 mins - Modelski was felled by a late challenge from McGrath a few moments back and he is replaced by Daniel Purdy. Lee has gone to right wing-back, with Purdy the furthest forward of the three midfielders.
81 mins - Burton break out from the back and the ball finds Harrad wide on the left. He cuts inside and shoots right-footed, but Wessels is there to claim in front of his face.
77 mins - While Wessels has made a couple of decent saves, Yao has also looked tidy in possession and not been over-awed by the challenge of facing more experienced opponents. The forward has been with FC Metz in France and Livorno Calcio in Italy previously, and speaks English, French and Italian.
75 mins - Still no sign of any changes from Dyer as we enter the final 15 minutes. West Ham can still get back in this, but they need to take better care in possession. Wearen gives the ball to Maghoma, who passes to Phillips, who drives his shot powerfully wide of the far post.
72 mins - Young come close to adding a fourth for Burton, but McNaughton blocks and Eyjolfsson completes the clearance. The attendance is 1,920. Not bad at all.
71 mins - Pearson runs at Modelski before cutting on to his right foot, but his shot is high and wide.
69 mins - Good stuff from West Ham, who keep the ball for more than a minute before Moncur lets fly with a rasping shot that takes a nick off a defender and goes behind. Moncur crosses and Sanchez connects with a powerful header that Legdzins does well to push aside.
67 mins - Fair play to the Bristol Hammers, who have not only made the long trip to Burton this afternoon, but are advertising the fact with a smart claret and blue flag. The lively Young threatens again, but Sanchez gets a toe in to concede the corner.
65 mins - Young crosses and Lee heads clear. Phillips retrieves the ball and sends over a teasing cross that eludes everyone and bounces a yard wide of the far post.
64 mins - You have to give the Hammers youngsters some credit here. They are holding their own against a Football League side with no fewer than seven fresh substitutes on the pitch. Corner to Burton...
62 mins - Two more changes from Burton. Moore and Penn are replaced by Harrad and Stanton.
61 mins - Great football but unfortunately no end product for West Ham. Eyjolfsson drives the ball forward and Abdulla brilliantly chests it down into the path of Yao. The American plays it back to Abdulla, but unfortunately his cross eludes Yao and Corbett has time to clear.
58 mins - West Ham's three outfield substitutes are warming up on the touchline. All three are attackers, so maybe Dyer will call on them if the scoreline stays the same for much longer.
56 mins - A loose header from McNaughton drops to Burton player. Young accelerates to the byline and cuts the ball back. Sanchez slides and gets something on the ball, coming close to scoring an own-goal. Thankfully, it flies harmlessly through the danger zone and away.
54 mins - Burton are nicknamed the Brewers and you can see why by looking above the far terrace. There, in the middle distance, are the familiar tanks used to brew ale of some description. I must confess I don't know which brewery owns them, but I can tell you that the town is home to the National Brewery Centre.
52 mins - GOAL! Burton are back in front. A long ball down the left channel finds Maghoma, who lofts the ball square for McGrath to beat Wessels with a looping header.
51 mins - Eyjolfsson seems to be having some trouble with his footwear. He's been down to do his laces up at least three times since half-time.
50 mins - Burton are pressing hard here. Young whips the ball over and only the timely intervention of Eyjolfsson prevents the home side taking advantage through Phillips.
48 mins - Wessels is the villain and then the hero in quick succession. The giant German gifts possession to Maghoma, who feeds Young. The replacement shoots low, but Wessels is able to block with his legs. Burton have a corner, but Wearen is in the right place to head the ball clear.
46 mins - And we're up and running again... Four changes for Burton, with Grocott, Webster, Dyer and Walker being the players replaced.
Here come the Burton players, led by substitute and new captain McGrath. Burton have also brought on Jacques Maghoma, Paul Boertien, Jimmy Phillips and Lewis Young. I was wrong about Cowler, as Wessels is the first West Ham player out for the second 45 minutes. No changes for the Hammers, who will get things back underway.
The Pirelli Stadium is very nice, I must say. With a capacity of nearly 7,000, it is perfect for a club the size of Burton Albion. There is plenty of space around the stadium for future expansion, too, should it be needed. It has been open since 2005, but looks brand new. Very nice, as I said!
It looks like we might get a bit of rain in the second half. The clouds have thickened overhead as West Ham's substitute go through a few exercises on the pitch. I think we might see young goalkeeper Sam Cowler after the break, as he is warming up with goalkeeper coach Jerome John.
Half-time score - Burton Albion 2-2 West Ham United XI
46 mins - Burton kick-off and moments later the half-time whistle is blown. What an entertaining half of football that was.
45 mins - GOAL! They deserve that. The three centre-backs knock the ball around confidently before Eyjolfsson lofts another superb ball forward for Abdulla. He heads it down into the path of Yao, who takes a touch before curling a fantastic shot into the roof of the net from around 16 yards.
42 mins - Eyjolfsson sends a long raking pass over the top which Andy Corbett can only head behind for a corner under pressure from Abdulla. Moncur crosses and Pearson heads behind again. Moncur's second corner is grabbed high above his head by Legzdins.
41 mins - Alex Dyer has been on the edge of his technical area for the whole first half, shouting instructions to his players. They have done well in the main, with Burton scoring with their only two shots on target. They certainly haven't been outplayed during the opening 40-odd minutes, by any means.
38 mins - Abdulla introduces McGrath to the action by fouling him on the halfway line. Burton break down the right and Pearson crosses deep, where Richard Walker just cannot stretch out his leg to apply the finishing touch.
37 mins - Burton make their first substitution. Goalscorer Bolder has a knock and is replaced by John McGrath.
35 mins - Abdulla shoots and his effort hits the wall and goes behind for a corner. Moncur curls the ball over but it is too close to Legzdins.
34 mins - Good stuff again from the visitors. Eyjolfsson wins possession with a crunching challenge and West Ham break through Abdulla. Modelski makes a good decoy run and Abdulla lays the ball square to Lee, who is fouled as he shoots. Free-kick to the Hammers, about 25 yards out.
32 mins - That's frustrating. Good football from Abdulla releases Yao. He holds the ball up and finds Modelski, who works the ball to Lee, Moncur and finally Brown. The left wing-back crosses but neither Wearen nor Yao can control it and the chance is lost.
29 mins - Yao runs at the Burton defence before his shot is blocked. Lee forces a hurried clearance straight to Brown, who beats his full-back but crosses too high for Abdulla.
27 mins - Penn shows he can play a bit, too, turning away from his marker and trying to play in Pearson. Thankfully for the visitors, Sanchez is there to cut out the pass.
26 mins - Burton win a free-kick wide on the left and Dyer curls it into the box, but the Hammers are able to clear. Moments later, Lee is felled by a late challenge from No11 Penn. The referee has a word with the Burton midfielder, as that wasn't a particularly good tackle.
25 mins - The corner may have come to nothing, but West Ham are showing signs of finding their feet again here and are controlling possession inside the Burton half. Jordan Brown, George Moncur and Olly Lee are all heavily involved.
23 mins - West Ham win a throw down the right deep inside the Burton half. Modelski lobs the ball in and Moore hacks it out of the stadium. A new ball is found and Wearen wins a corner.
20 mins - The unlikely figure of right wing-back Modelski gets forward and closes down a backpass to goalkeeper Legdzins. He slide tackles the stopper, but unfortunately the ball rolls behind for a goal kick, rather than into the net.
19 mins - The playing surface is very good here at the Pirelli Stadium and Burton are making good use of it at present, knocking the ball around neatly before Grocott's cross flies wide of the far post.
17 mins - The scoreline is very harsh on the Hammers, who have started brightly.
15 mins - GOAL! Oh dear. Sergio Sanchez does well initially before clearing to Burton's Jack Dyer. Dyer crosses deep and the ball bounces up, giving the defender a problem. He heads it straight to Adam Bolder, who smashes a shot low into the far corner. It is Bolder's debut.
14 mins - West Ham have responded well to conceding. Brown gets forward down the left and whips in a fine cross that Grocott can only head behind. Lee collects the corner short, but his cross floats over the top of everyone.
12 mins - GOAL! Burton have a set piece after Bolder is brought down 25 yards out. Aaron Webster steps up and curls the free-kick into the top right-hand corner. That was unstoppable.
10 mins - Good goalkeeping by Wessels. Former Hammers youngster Greg Pearson is sent through and shoots low, but the German got down well to his left to save. Pearson had been flagged offside, but Wessels wasn't to know.
9 mins - A Burton defender half-clears to Abdulla, whose shot is blocked on the edge of the penalty area.
8 mins - Wearen shows his willingness to go in where it hurts by beating his man and challenging the giant Moore. Seconds later, the former West Bromwich Albion man brings down the lively Yao. Moncur to curl the ball into the box...
7 mins - West Ham are going well in the early stages. The Hammers win a free-kick 30 yards from goal and Lee shoots low, but his effort flies wide of the post.
5 mins - From where I am sat in the stand, I had a perfect view of Abdulla's finish. He curled it absolutely superbly and it tucked neatly inside the far post and nestled into the net. The visiting fans absolutely loved that, as you might expect.
4 mins - GOAL! What a fantastic goal from Ahmed Abdulla, who beats the offside trap to latch on to a through ball by Brown before curling an inch-perfect finish around Legzdins and inside the far post.
2 mins - Burton break and Lee has to be alert to snuff out a shooting chance for Russell Penn. The ball goes behind for a corner, which the Hammers deal with easily enough. Brown smashes the ball upfield.
1 min - Good start from West Ham. At least six players are involved in a sweeping move that sees the ball worked forward down the right before being switched to Yao, who is challenged by the giant figure of Darren Moore.
3.01pm - Burton are going to kick-off attacking the end inhabited by the West Ham fans. A few hundred have made their way up the M1 for the afternoon.
2.59pm - West Ham are being captained today by Olly Lee. The midfielder has been in good form in pre-season, impressing at both Peterborough United and Thurrock. Two unfamiliar names in the starting XI for the Hammers - Stefan Wessels is a German goalkeeper who has appeared for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, Everton and FC Basel, while Devann Yao is a young American attacker who was with Ipswich Town last season.
2.58pm - Apologies for the late start to the minute-by-minute coverage, but we had a bit of a nightmare journey to Burton. A trip that should have taken about two hours ended up taking more than three. Anyway, the Hammers arrived at about 2.15pm and had a full warm-up in time for kick-off. Here come the two teams...
Good afternoon and welcome to the Pirelli Stadium in the Staffordshire town of Burton for today's pre-season friendly.
Burton spent their first season as a Football League club last term, finishing mid-table in League Two, and should provide a stern test for Alex Dyer's West Ham United reserves.
Burton Albion: Legzdins, Corbett, Grocott (Boertien 46), James, Moore (Harrad 62), Webster (Maghoma 46), Dyer (Phillips 46), Bolder (McGrath 37), Penn (Stanton 62), Pearson, Walker (Young 46)
Subs: Poole
West Ham United XI: Wessels, Modelski (Purdy 83), McNaughton, Eyjolfsson, Sanchez, Brown, Wearen, Lee, Moncur, Yao, Abdulla
Subs: Cowler, Werndly, Subuola