WEST HAM UNITED v WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
BARCLAYS PREMIER RESERVE LEAGUE
WOODSIDE PARK, BISHOP'S STORTFORD FC
TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2011
KICK-OFF: 2pm
Final score - West Ham United reserves 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
93 mins - That's full-time and West Ham have done well there. A victory and a clean sheet is no more than you can ask for. The Hammers' second-string will return to action here at Woodside Park next Tuesday evening, when Arsenal will be the visitors. Kick-off is at 7pm. Exclusive reaction and highlights from today's game will appear on whufc.com and West Ham TV soon.
92 mins - To those wondering where Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson is. The Iceland U21 defender is back in training after suffering a metatarsal injury. He should be back soon.
90 mins - Doherty dances to the by-line and pulls the ball back for substitute Forde, but he leans back and slams his shot high and out of the stadium. We'll have at least three more minutes.
86 mins - Wolves make a second change, bringing off Rooney and bringing on Andre Landell.
84 mins - Ilunga is replaced by Sergio Sanchez for the final few minutes.
80 mins - Right-back Doherty is booked for kicking the ball away. Before we re-start, Sebastian Lletget replaces Edgar for the final ten minutes or so.
76 mins - Wolves come close as Rooney heads powerfully wide from a Gorman corner. During the break in play, Gorman is replaced by Anthony Forde.
74 mins - Today's crowd is a healthy 468, no doubt swelled by the offer of Under-16s tickets for just £1 by host club Bishop's Stortford. West Ham return to Woodside Park next Tuesday evening, when the opposition will be Arsenal. Kick-off is at 7pm.
71 mins - Manager Grant is signing some autographs for supporters a few rows in front of me. He is bound to be in a good mood after last night's win over Burnley and smiles warmly at the fans as he meets them.
69 mins - Another shooting chance for Cassidy, this time on the volley. The striker had got between McNaughton and Ilunga and took advantage of some good work from Hemmings, but again the No9 could not keep his shot down and trouble Stech.
65 mins - Cassidy works a bit of space for himself inside the penalty area but he lifts his right-foot shot well over the top. Wolves are coming back into this a touch. A third goal for the home side would kill off their chances, though, I would say.
63 mins - Wolves win a corner down the right off Ilunga. Gorman curls the ball over left-footed, but Stech is there again to claim. The goalkeeper has looked very assured this afternoon.
60 mins - The goalmouth action has dried up slightly here. Also among the crowd is former reserve-team manager Alex Dyer, who has come to watch his old charges. Dyer, of course, left the club last month to become assistant manager at Charlton Athletic.
55 mins - That is McCallum's final action as he is replaced by Robert Hall. That was a decent debut for the 17-year-old, who arrived at the club from Dulwich Hamlet in January and has made just three youth-team appearances.
54 mins - McCallum latches on to a through ball from Ilunga and slides a shot goalwards. Basso blocks it. The ball rebounds back to McCallum but he is crowded out. The Hammers quickly regain possession and Tombides sends a volley flying over the top from 20 yards.
52 mins - That's half a chance for Spray inside the penalty area but the angle is against him and he cannot open up his body far enough to get the shot on target. It dribbles towards the left-hand post and Stech dives on the loose ball.
50 mins - Montano does well to control and spin away from Reckford. Tombides pulls wide to create space for the No11, but he runs straight into the tackle of Iwhieke.
48 mins - Wolves come forward through Northern Ireland international Gorman, but his low, left-foot shot flies well wide of the post.
47 mins - That's a bit cynical from Batth, who sees his clearance charged down by McCallum and then pulls back the young forward. Yellow card for the centre-back.
46 mins - Wolves get the second half underway after a slight delay. Can the Hammers build on their advantage? Let's hope so.
Half-time score - West Ham United reserves 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves
46 mins - That's half-time. Good 45 minutes or so for Kevin Keen and his players.
45 mins - Aside from a couple of minor scares, this has been a fine all-round first-half display from West Ham. They deserve their two-goal lead. A little handbags in the middle of the pitch sees Kovac and Spray spoken to by the referee - Kovac is booked. We're going to have one more minute, at least.
42 mins - I should mention that Tombides was the '19th man' for last night's FA Cup fifth-round victory over Burnley. He prepared alongside the first-team squad and was involved in all the build-up, which will have been a great experience for the teenager. It also meant he didn't get an early night, which makes his performance today all the more impressive.
41 mins - GOAL! That is thoroughly deserved for West Ham. Faubert gets clear down the right and rolls the ball across the face of goal for Edgar, who slams his shot high back across Basso and into the net.
39 mins - The ball drops to Tombides again 20 yards out but his shot cannons off Batth's head and bounces to Basso.
38 mins - Manager Avram Grant is here, as are Paul Groves and Wally Downes. They will all have no doubt been impressed by an outstanding individual display so far by Tombides. As I type, the 16-year-old picks up possession again and runs at Batth. He creates space for a shot, but it's not strong enough to beat Basso.
36 mins - Outstanding play from Tombides, who holds off two defenders before spinning away wide on the left. He plays the ball to Edgar, whose cross is met by Montano. Basso parries and the Colombian tries an acrobatic scissor-kick, but it's too high.
35 mins - McCallum chests the ball down neatly for Edgar, who decides to shoot first-time from 25 yards. The shot is low and flies wide of the target.
33 mins - Radoslav Kovac is putting himself about as usual, giving his all for the reserve-team cause. Ilunga and Faubert are also doing their bit, defending strongly and getting up and down their respective flanks. It has been Tombides and Montano who have caught the eye the most, though.
30 mins - Tombides and Montano combine again. The Australian lays the ball off 25 yards out and Montano sends a shot skimming low past the left-hand post. Basso was concerned by that as he had dived full-length. Moments later, Abdulla tries to pick out the run of Tombides, but the striker is offside.
26 mins - West Ham are playing well here. First, Edgar wins a free-kick that Basso claims, then Tombides goes down the left again and hangs up a cross that McCallum wins and forces the goalkeeper to catch under his own crossbar. West Ham come again and win a corner, but Montano's delivery is too high.
22 mins - Edgar thinks he should have a penalty as he runs into the box and appears to be caught by Batth. Referee Ian Cooper points at the ball. Corner. It is cleared but West Ham soon come again, but this time Edgar's shot is blocked. A third corner sees Mr Cooper blow for an infringement and Wolves have a free-kick.
19 mins - Superb play again from Tombides, who plays a one-two with Faubert before holding off a defender and shooting low and powerfully with his left foot. It's close too Basso and the goalkeeper holds on diving low to his left.
17 mins - Wolves almost hit back immediately as Hemmings meets a right-wing corner with a powerful header that Stech does well to tip over the crossbar. The second corner is caught by the giant Czech.
16 mins - GOAL! Montano scores for the second time in three reserve-team matches. Edgar threads a pass through the left channel for Tombides, who does superbly to slide and cut the cross back for the Colombian, who volleys first-time into the net off the inside of the near post.
14 mins - Cassidy this time, making space for himself before smashing a bouncing shot no more than a yard wide of the left-hand post.
13 mins - Wolves almost make West Ham pay as Hemmings shoots first-time from 20 yards but the ball takes a slight deflection and flies out for a corner, which is cleared.
12 mins - That's a bad miss. Tombides does superbly to lose his marker, out-muscling Reckford before getting to the by-line and cutting the ball back to Edgar. He has plenty of time and space, but can only stab his effort well over the top with his right foot from eight yards.
9 mins - That's better. Montano cushions a header down for Edgar, who immediately spreads wide right to the unmarked Faubert. He looks up and has three men in the penalty area to find, but his low cross is cut out by Reckford.
7 mins - Edgar makes a run across the pitch and collects the ball wide on the left. He has two to aim at in the middle but over-hits his cross.
6 mins - Faubert tries to pick out Tombides with a curling pass around but it's just too strong and Basso is out to the edge of his penalty area to collect. West Ham are employing a 4-4-2 formation, with Montano wide left and Edgar wide right. Kovac and Abdulla are in the middle with Tombides and McCallum up front.
4 mins - Gorman crosses left-footed for Wolves but the ball eludes Spray and McNaughton allows it to bounce into the arms of goalkeeper Stech. Good, calm defending from the hosts.
3 mins - After their early let-off, West Ham have settled down and are now enjoying the lion's share of possession. McCallum has had a couple of early touches to settle him down.
1 min - Wolves have the first opportunity as right-back Doherty runs at McNaughton before pulling the ball back from the by-line. Spray is there with a backheel flick but it flies a yard wide of the near post and into the side-netting.
2pm - We're off and running with West Ham kicking-off and shooting from right to left as we look at it.
1.55pm - The tunnel gates are closed and the two teams are nearly ready to enter the field of play.
1.50pm - A few hundred supporters have turned out on a cold and grey Tuesday afternoon. Let's hope the home side can warm them up with a decent performance. While they lost at Chelsea last week, the reserves looked very dangerous in attack and could easily have come away from Cobham with at least a draw. A fortnight ago, of course, the Hammers' second-string won 4-1 at West Bromwich Albion.
Good afternoon and welcome to Woodside Park for this afternoon's Barclays Premier Reserve League fixture between West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers will again be managed by first-team coach Kevin Keen and will be eager to bounce back following a narrow 4-3 defeat at Chelsea six days ago.
With the first team in FA Cup action against Burnley on Monday evening, Keen has a young squad to call upon today, although full internationals Julien Faubert, Herita Ilunga and Radoslav Kovac are both involved, as is Czech Republic U21 goalkeeper Marek Stech.
Jordan Spence will captain the side, with fellow professionals Anthony Edgar, Ahmed Abdulla, Callum McNaughton and Cristian Montano joined in the starting XI by scholars , Sergio Sanchez, Paul McCallum and Dylan Tombides. McCallum makes his reserve-team debut following his January arrival from non-league Dulwich Hamlet.
Wolves also name a young side, although 35-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper Adriano Basso did make 165 league appearances for Bristol City before joining the club on a short-term contract in January 2011.
West Ham United reserves: Stech, Faubert, Spence, McNaughton, Ilunga (Sanchez 84), Kovac, Edgar (Lletget 80), Abdulla, Montano, McCallum (Hall 55), Tombides
Subs not used: Mehmet, Lee
Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves: Basso, Doherty, Reckford, Price, Iwhieke, Batth, Gorman (Forde 76), Rooney (Landell 86), Cassidy, Spray, Hemmings
Subs: East, Griffiths, Harris