Academy All-Stars v West Ham United
Tony Carr Testimonial Match
Boleyn Ground
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Referee: Andy D'Urso
FInal score - Academy All-Stars 1-5 West Ham United
91 mins - A few seconds after the 90 minutes are up, the final whistle is blown. That was a fantastic night for all concerned. A superb turn out from the fans and players alike, and some lovely football played, particularly following the arrival of Zola late on. Di Canio runs to the Bobby Moore Stand and, in time-honoured fashion, lobs his shirt into the crowd before bowing in homage to the fans who once sang his name every other weekend. With a bow, the great man turns and walks back to the tunnel with a chorus of 'Paolo Di Canio' ringing in his ears. A perfect end to a perfect evening! Highlights and exclusive interviews will appear on WHUTV and whufc.com soon. Goodnight.
89 mins - A final change for West Ham, and it's Zola who is going to be replaced to loud boos from fans wanting to see more! They soon turn to loud cheers as the manager makes his way to the touchline before embracing his replacement, Daprela.
88 mins - GOAL! Montano plays party-pooper, taking the ball off Di Canio's toe and shooting into the net from eight yards. Di Canio had latched on to Zola's exquisite pass and nicked the ball around John. He would surely have scored himself had Montano not been there.
87 mins - That Zola isn't a bad player is he? He takes a pass from Brown and completely bamboozles Forbes before finding Di Canio. He tries to cut inside and shoot, but loses the ball at the vital moment.
86 mins - GOAL! They're like London buses on the Barking Road... Brown crosses low, Di Canio dummies and Sears sweeps the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot. Very confident finish, that.
85 mins - GOAL! And a nice one at that. Reid finds Williamson in space inside the West Ham box. He tees the ball up with his left foot before sending a controlled low volley past Kurucz with his right. Lovely stuff.
84 mins - Surely this is the final change of the night? Stech is coming off for Academy goalkeeper coach Jerome John.
83 mins - The All-Stars have another chance through Stokes, but he lifts his shot over the top.
82 mins - The linesman is not the most popular man in the ground. Brown plays a one-two with Lee before trying to play in Montano, only for the flag to go up for offside.
80 mins - GOAL! ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING! Brown plays the ball to Da Costa, who turns and runs forward before playing a through ball to the little No15. He beats the offside trap before lifting an inch-perfect lob over Stech that bounces on the line before nestling in the bottom of the net. Oh, by the way, the No15 is called Zola.
78 mins - Unsurprisingly, Di Canio has been voted man of the match! Zola is upstaging him, though, finding Faubert, who controls on his chest before forcing Stech into a smart save.
77 mins - Richardson is heading off to be replaced by England Under-17 striker Robert Hall. I should point out that Richardson was sharing the pitch with his cousin Jordan Brown for half-an-hour.
75 mins - Zola is on fire! He does a couple of stepovers and loses his marker before forcing Stech into a diving save low to his right. Great stuff from the manager, who is rewarded with a chant of 'Sign him up' from the stands.
74 mins - Montano is clearly enjoying this as he runs at the All-Stars defence and wins a corner. Zola to take...! He whips in a beauty but Stech gets a hand to it and punches clear. The All-Stars break and Alexander delivers another superb cross to the far post, but Stokes can only volley it wide on his left foot.
73 mins - Montano can't be happy! He scores and has now been shunted out to the left wing to make way for Zola and Di Canio. Ridiculous. Ephraim has a great chance for the All-Stars, collecting Alexander's cross but shooting a yard wide of the far post.
71 mins - West Ham are going for it, which is strange considering they are two goals up! They are now playing three at the back, and Alexander nearly makes them pay, but his shot flies wide. Another change - Ward is replaced by Andrew Edwards. Forbes is now captaining the All-Stars.
70 mins - Zola immediately collects the ball from the corner and curls a delightful cross to the far post where Ward has to stretch to head clear.
69 mins - Moose reckones Di Canio is coming on for Boa Morte, who is no longer on the pitch. Instead, James Tomkins volunteers and comes off. I should point out that Di Cani is now playing for West Ham! Zola is on for Diamanti.
68 mins - Mister Gianfranco Zola is going to come on very shortly. Before he does, Diamanti nearly gets lucky when he and Forbes go for the same ball, but Stech makes a superb save to push the ball out for a corner.
67 mins - He's a talented player is Diamanti. He takes a touch from Faubert's pass before trying to lob Stech from 20 yards, but the goalkeeper has just enough time to back-pedal and catch the ball on his goal-line.
64 mins - I get the feeling Faubert is quite enjoying playing in an attacking midfield role! He tries a flick to send Montano through, but Forbes is there to cut it out. Another change - Danny Williamson comes on for Hodges.
61 mins - This would be West Ham's first away win since 15 August if they can hold on to their two-goal advantage...
58 mins - Di Canio is replaced by Millwall's Gary Alexander.
57 mins - GOAL! Da Costa initially does well before gifting possession to Di Canio. The Italian cuts inside and shoots but Spence blocks. West Ham break up the other end and Diamanti and Sears combine before the latter crosses for Montano. His initial header goes up in the air and over Stech, and the Colombian keeps his composure to head into the unguarded net. A great moment for the youngster in front of the crowd of 13,836.
56 mins - West Ham are well on top here. Faubert again gets free and finds Diamanti inside the box. His cross is deflected into the path of Lee, who drives his shot wide from 20 yards.
55 mins - Diamanti finds Sears in acres down the right. He checks inside and finds Faubert, but the Frenchman's cross is cut out by Reid, who is then tripped by the Italian.
54 mins - Brown and Lee combine before the midfielder feeds Faubert. He could play in Montano, but instead chooses to shoot, but he drags his effort well wide from 25 yards.
52 mins - I reckon Moose should stick to newsreading... He hasn't mentioned that Leyton Orient's Stephen Purches is also on for Newton. Meanwhile, in the non-substitutions world, Faubert crosses but the ball bounces just in front of Montano before Purches clears the danger.
51 mins - Kieran Richardson has also come on unannounced. He's on for Ridgewell at left-back.
49 mins - Another substitution. Anton Ferdinand is heading off and gets a very good round of applause, which he replicates before shaking hands with Yeovil Town's Terrell Forbes.
48 mins - I'm 99.9 per cent sure McCann and Britton have gone off. Stokes gets a shot in, but he drags it down and Kurucz saves with ease. Stokes has recently returned from a successful spell in Hungarian football with Ujpest FC, but is now looking for a new club in England.
46 mins - The second half has begun, by the way...!
West Ham have got loads of new players on. I'll try and update you - on have come Faubert, Da Costa, Spence, Kovac, Olly Lee and Academy pair Jordan Brown and Cristian Montano. Off have gone Spector, Gabbidon, Daprela, Franco, Noble and Parker.
For the All-Stars, Tony Stokes and Kyel Reid have come on, but I'm not 100 per cent sure who has gone off!
Tony Carr thanks the fans, the players and his family for supporting him this evening and throughout his career at the club. He looks and sounds genuinely chuffed to bits with the turnout this evening.
Tony Cottee trumps Parris and gets a proper cheer. He is followed by Steve Potts, whose son Danny is currently coming through the Academy himself. Kevin Keen, the first-team coach, is next out of the tunnel, followed by Eamonn Dolan and Matthew Rush.
Here come the ex-Academy players...Alvin Martin, Paul Brush and Paul Allen are first to be announced. Bobby Barnes is next, followed by Alan Dickens and Everald La Ronde. Georgie Parris gets the loudest cheer yet, though!
46 mins - Half-time, and we're going to have a parade of ex-Academy players and then Tony Carr is going to address the crowd.
45 mins - Oh Diamanti! He picks the ball up from Scott Parker and skips past two challenges before shooting high and wide. Robert Green is replaced by Peter Kurucz.
42 mins - Diamanti plays in Franco, but Stech is out smartly to save at the forward's feet. Good, brave goalkeeping. The All-Stars go up the other end and Ephraim takes on Daprela, but his cross is over-hit.
41 mins - Noble should score, but he plants his shot over from about eight yards after Franco and Diamanti had combined through the left part of the penalty area. The All-Stars have not really threatened in the last few minutes, to be honest.
40 mins - Franco gets a sight of goal from the corner of the penalty area, but he flashes his shot past the angle of post and bar.
37 mins - West Ham have got eight substitutes warming up on the touchline. Wholesale changes at half-time, methinks...
34 mins - Eastwood shoots, but his effort is off-target. More subs! Slater is replaced by pint-sized Lee Hodges, while Eastwood heads off to be replaced by No20 Hogan Ephraim.
32 mins - Stanislas is heading off and here comes Freddie Sears. I thought he was meant to be playing for the All-Stars?!
31 mins - GOAL! That's the way to do it. Diamanti picks up the loose ball inside the box before curling it into the far top corner. Class.
31 mins - Scunthorpe United midfielder Grant McCann shoots from 30 yards, but it's an easy enough save for Green.
28 mins - It's come to referee D'Urso stopping the game for Rio to go off! Maybe Fergie had given him a quick call on his intercom... Ward is on, anyway, and we're going to re-start with Stech clearing the ball. Rio gets a great reception as he heads off.
26 mins - It looks like Tony Carr has assumed assistant manager duties here as he is standing with Ward in the technical area. They could have had a decent conversation here, as the ball hasn't gone out of play for about seven minutes!
25 mins - Rio can't get off the pitch here! West Ham attack again, prompted by a Parker backheel, but Diamanti's cross is too deep. Ward must be getting cold on the touchline!
23 mins - Stanislas gets in behind again and crosses, but Newton is there to clear again. I don't think Rio wants to go off!
21 mins - Stanislas gets into a bit of space 25 yards out, but he drags his shot wide. I think Rio's race may be run shortly as Elliott Ward is standing on the touchline in his No22 shirt. A prior agreement with Sir Alex Ferguson was made that Rio would play 20 minutes. I hope Sir Alex doesn't mind that he's been on for a couple of minutes too long, otherwise Frank Lampard Sr might be getting the hairdrier treatment.
19 mins - Good save Marek Stech. Spector robs Di Canio and passes to Stanislas, who romps forward and lays the ball off to Diamanti, who cuts inside and shoots past Rio. Stech dives full-length to push the ball to Franco. The Mexican tries to nutmeg Newton, but gets no joy out of the Luton Town defender and the All-Stars clear.
18 mins - Noble tries to thread the ball through to Franco but Rio is there again. He gets a chorus of 'Rio' from the crowd. Come on, let's have a goal!
16 mins - Franco does really well to get behind the All-Stars defence. He cuts the ball back to Boa Morte, who delays his shot too long before trying to take on Rio. Bad idea.
15 mins - Daprela crosses and Anton is there to head clear. These two Ferdinands might have a future in the game, you know. The All-Stars go on the attack and Di Canio tries to clip a pass over to Eastwood, but it's too strong and Green gathers.
12 mins - Dare I say it, but the All-Stars might be playing marginally the better football here!
10 mins - We've had ten minutes and not a single tackle. Slater runs at Spector and tries to roll the ball to Di Canio, but his pass is mis-placed and West Ham clear.
8 mins - Di Canio gets a toe in as Parker dribbles along the edge of his own box, but thankfully for the Hammer of the Year, the ball rolls through to Green. Seconds later, Diamanti cuts in from the left and stings Stech's palms with a rasping shot from 20 yards which the Czech can only push over the top.
6 mins - Good again from Anton, who out-muscles Diamanti as the Italian tries to latch on to Franco's pass inside the penalty area.
5 mins - I hope he doesn't do that in South Africa! Rio goes into a challenge with Junior Stanislas. Neither are particularly keen to tackle each other and Stanislas comes away with the ball. He tries to knock it inside to Diamanti, but brother Anton is there to mop up.
4 mins - Franco tries to hook the ball over the top for partner Diamanti, but Adam Newton, the 1999 FA Youth Cup winner, is there to nod the ball safely back to Marek Stech.
3 mins - There is a ripple of excitement as Di Canio picks the ball up and runs at the defence, but his pass is too far in front of Eastwood.
1 min - Rio gets a massive cheer when he touches the ball for the first time. I don't think we'll see many long balls tonight!
8.03pm - Off we go...
8.02pm - Nearly there! West Ham, the away team, will kick-off shooting towards the Bobby Moore Stand...
8.01pm - We're now delaying the delayed start, but nobody is complaining! Instead, they're using the time to sing 'Paolo Di Canio'. It's like 1999 all over again!
7.58pm - John Terry, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole get a very nice welcome as they are announced individually. Unfortunately, with the title race still on, Chelsea won't let the trio play. They've put their kits on, though, and fair play to them. Lampard gives Carr a big hug on the way past, and the England midfielder gets a very good reception, which is fantastic to hear. It's nothing to the noise when Di Canio's name is announced for a second time.
7.57pm - Moose lets us know that Bobby Zamora, Paul Konchesky, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and Michael Carrick have all made their apologies for not turning out tonight. Zamora is injured but Defoe and Konchesky have no excuse, they're only playing for Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham in the Premier League tonight.
7.56pm - Rio Ferdinand is captaining the All-Stars. The two teams form a guard of honour for the main man himself. Tony is welcomed by tonight's guest PA announcer Ian 'Moose' Abrahams and receives a right royal East End welcome from the crowd. Good stuff.
7.55pm - A bit of Chaka Demus and Pliers is filling the air now. Classic tune... The substitutes are taking their seats on the bench, and here comes 'Bubbles'...closely followed by the two teams.
7.51pm - The safety officer has just restated that we'll be kicking-off at 8pm as there are still fans waiting to get in.
7.48pm - We're enjoying a bit of M-People at the moment. Excellent. Still no sign of the two teams, but I'm told that there are quite a few supporters still outside the stadium waiting to get in. It's now been officially announced that kick-off has been delayed until 8pm.
7.45pm - I think it's fair to say we're going to have a delayed kick-off...unless the two teams appear, shake hands, have their photos taken and kick-off in the next 50 seconds...
7.42pm - Just to let you know, each squad has too many substitutes to mention. Hence, I won't list them all below, but rather announce them as they happen.
7.40pm - Both teams are now heading back to their rather busy dressing rooms. With about 30 players in each squad, there's not a huge amount of room in either the home or away. Di Canio gets a massive reception as he heads down the tunnel. He looks in very good shape. Maybe he could be coaxed out of retirement for one last crack at the Premier League next season?
Good evening and welcome to the Boleyn Ground for a very special occasion - the Testimonial match to celebrate Academy Director Tony Carr's 37 years of service to West Ham United.
Carr joined the club on a part-time basis in 1973, working under Ronnie Boyce, Carr took charge of the Hammers' youth setup in 1980.
Since then, the 59-year-old has overseen the development of dozens of top-class footballers, including current England internationals Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson.
A crowd of around 15,000 supporters is expected at the stadium for what promises to be a memorable occasion, with the likes of Paolo Di Canio also turning out to honour a true West Ham United legend.
Academy All-Stars: Stech (John 84), Newton (Purches 46), A.Ferdinand (Forbes 49), R.Ferdinand (Ward 28, Edwards 71), Ridgewell (Richardson 46, Hall 77), Slater (Hodges 34, Williamson 64), McCann (Stokes 46), Holland, Britton (Reid 46), Eastwood (Ephraim 34), Di Canio (Alexander 58)
West Ham United: Green (Kurucz 45), Spector (Spence 46), Gabbidon (Da Costa 46), Tomkins (Di Canio 69), Daprela (Brown 46), Stanislas (Sears 32), Parker (Kovac 46), Noble (Lee 46), Boa Morte (Stokes 46), Franco (Montano 46), Diamanti (Zola 69, Daprela 89)