West Ham United reserves v Manchester City reserves
Barclays Premier Reserve League
Thurrock FC, Ship Lane
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Kick-off: 2pm
Referee: Robert Whitton
Final score - West Ham United reserves 1-2 Manchester City reserves
93 mins - West Ham win back possession and Abdulla tries to find Subuola with a long driven through ball, but he over-hits it and City clear. Moments later, Lee finds Nouble on the edge of the box, but his pass for Subuola is too short. Logan smashes the ball forward and referee Robert Whitton blows for full-time.
92 mins - Mee smashes the ball forward and Spence can only flick it out for a City throw-in. Not long to go now.
91 mins - Stech clears upfield and Nouble commits an infringement on halfway. Valuable seconds will be lost while City take this set piece.
90 mins - Time is nearly up. We're going to have at least three more minutes...
88 mins - Subuola fouls Tutte inside the West Ham half. Montano doesn't like the decision and throws the ball down into the turf. He is booked for dissent. The free-kick is over-hit and goes behind for a goal kick. A last chance for the Hammers to find an equaliser...
86 mins - Montano does really well, winning the ball back from Wabara just outside the penalty area before being pulled back by the defender. Free-kick... Lee lifts the ball over and it flicks off a head to Reid. He drops his shoulder and beats his man, but is just unable to keep the ball in. Goal kick.
85 mins - Guidetti is fine to continue, so it's Etuhu who makes way for Omar Elabdellaou
84 mins - City still haven't made their change. Guidetti is down and needs the physio on. I presume City will wait to see if he can continue before making a change.
82 mins - City are going to make their first change, but it looks like they'll wait until after Etuhu has curled in a free-kick from about 35 yards. Etuhu lifts the ball in and Reid clears.
79 mins - That goal has given Nouble some confidence. He races forward and chases a bit of a lost cause, but makes enough of a nuisance of himself to force both Mee and Wabara to miss the ball. He stabs it goalwards with the outside of his right foot, but Gonzalez blocks.
78 mins - Spence overplays at the back and City win the ball back. It spins to Guidetti, whose shot is blocked by Stech before Brown hacks it upfield. That's a bit of a let-off.
77 mins - Lletget sends Spector galloping down the right with a nice ball into the American's path. He crosses the halfway line and sends the ball in low to the edge of the penalty area, but Mee is able to hack clear left-footed.
75 mins - The Hammers are pressing hard for an equaliser. They need to be a little bit careful not to get caught on the break, though. Spence and Reid combine well to deny Guidetti after he had been sent clear by Etuhu.
71 mins - GOAL! Brown gets well again and crosses dangerously, but just too strong for the lunging Montano. Lee recovers the ball on the far side and crosses instantly. Nouble has lost his marker and plants a firm header into the top right-hand corner from eight yards. Good finish, and West Ham are back in it.
70 mins - Dyer is calling on his players to move forward. Abdulla seeks out Nouble with a long pass, but he loses out to Chantler.
69 mins - Montano gets forward well down the left, latching on to a pass from Brown before crossing towards Nouble. Wabara is there, though, and heads clear of the penalty area.
65 mins - GOAL! Reid will want to forget that moment in a hurry. City knock the ball around with real patience on the edge of the penalty area. Etuhu, Kay, Ibrahim and Guidetti are all involved before Chantler sets Helan away. He beats Spector and crosses low. Reid slides in at the near post but can only divert the ball past Stech.
63 mins - West Ham have gone 4-3-3. Montano is wide left and Subuola wide right, with Lletget in the centre of midfield.
62 mins - Dyer makes a double change in midfield, replacing Kovac and Moncur with Subuola and Lletget.
61 mins - Montano tries to break through the middle. Wabara gets to the ball first but horribly slices his clearance into his own penalty area, where Gonzalez is out quickly to catch the bouncing ball.
58 mins - GOAL! Ibrahim breaks the deadlock, holding off his marker and smashing a low left-foot drive past Stech from about 16 yards out. West Ham have it all to do now.
56 mins - City are showing more attacking intent this half. Their full-backs and midfielders are joining in the attack far more often and it is giving West Ham's back four plenty to think about. With both teams throwing more men forward, the game is opening up a bit.
54 mins - Logan gets forward and makes space for Etuhu to run at the Hammers back four. He cuts inside Moncur and sends in a cross that has Stech in two minds. Thankfully, the ball flies out for a goal kick.
53 mins - A slip by Wabara nearly allows Nouble to latch on to Lee's through ball, but the No5 adjusts well to head the ball into the air, giving partner Mee time to come over and snuff out the danger.
51 mins - Montano does well, controlling Reid's high ball forward before swapping passes with Lee and winning a corner off Chantler. Abdulla drives the ball over, but again Gonzalez is able to catch with relative comfort.
48 mins - A slight moment of controversy. Kovac is fouled and feigns to take the free-kick before back-heeling the ball to Reid. He puts his hand down to stop the ball and Ibrahim claims handball, telling the referee Kovac has already taken the free-kick. The referee disagrees and allows Reid to take the set piece.
47 mins - Just like they did in the first half, West Ham have started strongly and are passing the ball confidently around the midfield. Reid tries to pick out Brown with a cross-field pass, but Logan gets a foot in to clear for a throw.
46 mins - Kay and Ibrahim get the second half underway...
West Ham United's players emerge from the dressing rooms and are quickly followed by their Manchester City counterparts. A number of familiar faces are here - Avram Grant, for one! Former Luton Town striker Mick Harford is sat just in front of me, too.
Half-time score - West Ham United reserves 0-0 Manchester City reserves
46 mins - Into added-time and West Ham fashion another shooting chance, only for Moncur to slice his volley high and wide. Seconds later, the half-time whistle is blown.
45 mins - That was a decent chance for the hosts. Lee turns away from his defender before sliding a neat ball through for Montano down the inside-right channel. Montano's initial cross is blocked and when the ball comes back to him, the Colombian slams a wild effort that spins out for a throw-in.
44 mins - Just a few moments to go until half-time and it looks like we're going to end the opening 45 minutes goalless. West Ham have shaded it, in terms of possession but City have had the clearer chances. Plenty for both managers to think about at the break.
42 mins - Lee becomes the first player cautioned for a late sliding tackle on Tutte. Lee had played the ball into Abdulla, who mis-controlled. When the ball ran clear, Tutte was just a split-second faster too it than Lee.
41 mins - Helan is a bit of a handful. He does a couple of step-overs to wrong-foot Spector before crossing, but it's too high for Guidetti. The ball is then crossed in from the right and Spector heads behind for a corner, which Stech claims.
39 mins - City are definitely on top now. Chantler finds Ibrahim, whose loose touch rolls into the path of Helan. He races away from Reid and should cross for Guidetti. Instead, he shoots left-footed and again it's an easy save for Stech to make.
37 mins - Reid does well to get in and head the ball behind for a corner. The ball comes over from the left, but Ibrahim can only help it out for a goal kick on the far side.
33 mins - Etuhu picks up possession in midfield and drives at the West Ham back four, riding a challenge from Moncur in the process, before shooting low but straight at Stech. Seconds later, City come again and this time it is Ibrahim who curls a shot a couple of yards wide. The visitors have come into this in the last five minutes.
31 mins - Reid has looked strong and assured so far. He's winning everything in the air against Guidetti, a Sweden U19 striker with 14 goals in 14 appearances for his country at that level.
28 mins - West Ham are again controlling possession, but they have yet to fashion a real clear opening. Kovac shoots from 30 yards, but his effort is charged down. Dyer is imploring his side to keep passing the ball. Should they do that, a chance will surely arrive sooner rather than later.
25 mins - Kay drives a free-kick into the penalty area from halfway. Mee gets his head to the ball, but it's an easy save for Stech low down.
24 mins - Good defensive work from Brown this time, getting himself in the right place to cut out an attempted through ball to Kelvin Etuhu. Had he got that wrong, the City No7 would have been in on goal.
22 mins - Kay comes forward again for City, but Reid is strong and blocks his shot on the edge of the penalty area.
21 mins - Jordan Brown is having a good game here, getting up and down the left flank and causing City all manner of problems. He wins another corner on his latest foray upfield. Abdulla's kick is again a deep one that finds Spector, but the American's cross is too strong and City clear. West Ham quickly win possession back and Abdulla has a chance to shoot from 25 yards, but he scuffs his effort well wide of the left-hand post.
20 mins - Abdulla's effort cannons into the wall and City clear.
19 mins - Montano does superbly to bring down a high ball before beating one defender. He is about to pull the trigger from 25 yards when he is impeded by Scott Kay. Free-kick in a shooting position for the Hammers...
16 mins - Guidetti goes down under a challenge from Spence and a free-kick is given 30 yards from Stech's goal. It looked a bit soft, that. Chantler curls the ball over, but it's short and Kovac clears with ease on the volley.
15 mins - Another chance for West Ham as Montano gets in behind. He tries to find Nouble, but the pass hits a defender and rolls behind for another corner. Abdulla again takes, but it's too close to Gonzalez and the goalkeeper claims high above his head.
14 mins - Abdulla curls the corner over from the left and it bounces to Spector at the far post, but the full-back cannot keep his volley down and it flies high and wide.
13 mins - Good stuff from West Ham. Reid finds Abdulla with a fine pass. The No10 controls, loses his defender and shoots from 20 yards, forcing a sprawling save from Gonzalez.
11 mins - Spector does well, winning the ball on the edge of his own box before beating two City attackers and laying the ball off to Moncur. He finds Kovac, who then seeks out Spector with a raking 40-yard pass. Logan is there to intercept and head the ball away. Enterprising play from the American.
9 mins - Typical! Helan finds Kay and the No4 gets into the penalty area and shoots low. Stech blocks with his legs and Lee is able to hack the ball clear. City win a free-kick, but captain Spence is there to head the ball away from inside his own box.
8 mins - City have hardly had a kick so far. West Ham are lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Abdulla behind Nouble and Montano.
7 mins - Abdulla nearly benefits from a loose sliced clearance from Gonzalez, but Logan is there to head the ball back to his goalkeeper.
5 mins - Among the crowd here today is Arsenal scout and former West Ham player John Cartwright. He came through the ranks alongside the great Bobby Moore and later went on to work for the FA's School of Excellence.
3 mins - A loose touch at the back allows Nouble to attack down the right. He wins a corner. It is taken short and Abdulla sees his cross blocked.
2 mins - That's a good chance for the Hammers, to be honest. Moncur switches play cleverly and Kovac helps the ball on to Brown. His cross is dangerous and Gonzalez comes out and can only divert the ball on to the shoulder of Nouble. It bounces narrowly wide.
1 min - Spector gets forward well down the right flank before feeding the ball inside to Lee, whose touch is a little heavy and Gonzalez is able to gather with ease.
2pm - We're underway here at Ship Lane.
1.59pm - West Ham will kick-off...
1.57pm - The Hammers enter the playing surface. They certainly have the edge in terms of experience, but City's youngsters will be eager to shine on a cool and cloudy afternoon. A bit of news before we start - Iceland Under-21 defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson, a regular in the reserves, is on trial at German champions VfL Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg, of course, are managed by former England boss Steve McClaren.
1.55pm - There is a decent turnout of supporters here this afternoon, including the Hammers Under-14 side, who have taken their seats in the main stand here at Ship Lane. City are the first to emerge from the dressing rooms in their all-white kit with a blue and red diagonal stripe across the front.
1.50pm - Good afternoon and welcome to Essex for this afternoon's Barclays Premier Reserve League clash with Manchester City. Both teams lost their last league fixture - the Hammers at Arsenal and City at Wigan Athletic - so they will be keen to bounce back to winning ways. Both teams have headed back to their dressing rooms for their final preparations.
Good afternoon and welcome to Ship Lane for West Ham United's fifth fixture of the 2010/11 Barclays Premier Reserve League season.
Alex Dyer's side have won three and lost one of their opening four matches and sit third in the Southern Division table, albeit with games in hand on the two teams above them - Aston Villa and Arsenal.
Dyer has a mixture of youth and experience to call upon this afternoon, with full internationals Radoslav Kovac (pictured), Winston Reid and Jonathan Spector joining a host of young professionals in the starting XI.
Manchester City, who have renamed their reserves the 'Elite Development Squad', have brought a youthful squad. Kelvin Etuhu, John Guidetti, Ben Mee and Abdisalam Ibrahim all have first-team experience, with the latter three all starting City's 2-1 Carling Cup third-round defeat at West Bromwich Albion in September.
West Ham United reserves: Stech, Spector, Spence, Reid, Brown, Kovac (Subuola 62), Lee, Moncur (Lletget 62), Abdulla, Montano, Nouble
Subs: Mehmet, Sanchez, Powell
Manchester City reserves: Gonzalez, Logan, Chantler, Kay, Wabara, Mee, Etuhu (Elabdellaou 85), Tutte, Guidetti, Ibrahim, Helan
Subs: Johansen, Benali, Veseli, Smith