Rot-Weiss Erfurt v West Ham United
Pre-season match
Steigerwaldstadion
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Kick-off: 7pm
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Final score: Rot-Weiss Erfurt 0-3 West Ham United
FULL-TIME - Well that is job done for West Ham United. Another tough workout and another win. They were not at their best in the first half but more than made up for it in the second with two brilliant goals to go with their fortunate opener. Next up is Dynamo Dresden on Friday. whufc.com will bring you full reaction to this game later.
90 mins - The free-kick is strong but Henderson is more than a match for it as he gets down low to gather the ball cleanly. He has been impressive tonight.
89 mins - Potts goes into the book for a strong tackle and Erfurt have one last chance to get a goal back with a free-kick down the right.
84 mins - We have 6,750 fans here tonight and I think it's fair to say they've enjoyed themselves regardless of the score. There was a nice moment earlier when the home fans clapped Vaz Te's two goals, which shows how good they were.
78 mins - Maynard makes way to Matt Taylor. His pass was brilliant for Vaz Te's second so not a bad way to sign off the night.
77 mins - GOAL! Well, Ricardo Vaz Te take a bow. And he actually does in front of the Hammers fans to celebrate. Maynard plays a perfect through-ball and Vaz Te beats the offside trap to be left one-on-one with Philipp in the Erfurt goal. Sadly for the substitute 'keeper a simple step over or three leaves him on his behind and Vaz Te has the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net. Brilliant stuff.
76 mins - Another corner to Erfurt to be taken by Marco Engelhardt on the right. Henderson, once again, is on hand to punch the ball away. He has had a solid night tonight, which I'm sure will please Big Sam as he looks to decide who will start in goal for the Hammers' first game at home to Aston Villa.
73 mins - Great defending from Driver there as he makes up a lot of ground to challenge Niklas Odenwald just as midfielder looks set to be first to Marius Stranl's cross.
68 mins - The home side are getting right behind their team again now and are desperate to see them score. The nearly did then as Potts heads off the line but referee Sebastain Schmickartz had already blown for a foul.
63 mins - GOAL! Brilliant goal from West Ham United. A slick move down the left sees Vaz Te backheel the ball into the path of Turgott. He bursts away from his marker before reaching the penalty area. He then crosses the ball with flicked pass where Vaz Te is on hand to smash it into the bottom corner. Not a bad introduction from the Play-Off final matchwinner.
61 mins - Ricardo Vaz Te is next to come on as Sam Baldock leaves the field. The forward has been unwell in the past week so that might well have something to do with his early departure.
59 mins - But the hosts have certainly not given up yet and Henderson has to be quick to come off his line to beat Ozturk to the ball after Mohsni just managed to get enough on the ball to take the sting out of a cross from Igor Jovanovic.
55 mins - Free-kick down the right after Kazim-Richards was fouled. He took quite a hit there from a late tackle but has got back to his feet. Rob Hall takes it and the ball nearly ends up in the back of the net but for a last-ditch deflection on the line. Much better from West Ham this half.
51 mins - Well that goal has silenced the home fans and it was met by a huge cheer from the fans in claret and blue on the far side. From where I was sitting it looked very odd as the defender looked to have a bit of time but chose to hit the ball first time to give fellow half-time substitute Phillip Klewin no chance in goal.
47 mins - GOAL! And West Ham United take the lead. Kazim-Richards breaks down the right and fires in a testing cross that substitute Phil Ofosu-Ayeh smashes into his own net with his first touch! Great start to the second half from the Hammers.
46 mins - And West Ham get us going in the second period and will be attacking the goal to our left. The Hammers have made two changes at the break with Callum Driver coming on for Lemey and Sam Baldock replacing O'Brien. Mohsni has moved to central defence with Driver slotting in at right-back.
HALF TIME - And the referee brings the first half to a close. It is likely the Hammers will make a couple of changes after the break but I expect Big Sam will be telling his players to keep up the hard work in the heat. Just as soon as the players go down the tunnel, those not starting tonight head out to the pitch to warm up.
45 mins - The Hammers stopper goes one better there as he pulls off a fine stop low down to his right from another shot by Ozturk. The resulting corner is cleared by Lamey at the near post.
43 mins - A rasping shot from Gobel nearly catches Henderson as he does not quite take it cleanly. He does well to go in bravely and smother the ball as Ozturk tries to put in the rebound.
39 mins - We are coming up to half time and the Hammers are yet to really test Rickert. Macca has just come to the touchline to tell his team to keep their tempo up. Let's see if they can respond in the five minutes or so we have left.
36 mins - Well I've just heard my first rendition of 'Bubbles' from the Hammers fans in the sunshine on the far side. They are doing well to make themselves heard as the German fans are making plenty of noise.
32 mins - Wally Downes was mistakenly named on the teamsheet as the Hammers' 'Trainer' but he seems to have taken to his new role well! The first-team coach is out of the edge of the technical area barking out instructions to the side.
28 mins - Lamey fouls Gobel on the edge of the box and the home side have a free-kick. Gobel himself takes it and Henderson is forced into a low save down to his left. Good stop from the summer signing.
26 mins - Another chance for the hosts as Gobel breaks clear of the Hammers back line. He is closed down well by Lamey but still manages to get a shot in, which Henderson gets down to gather comfortably.
24 mins - While we have a quick break in play, I'll tell you a little bit more about West Ham TV's coverage of Friday's game in Dresden. If you listen to Talksport, you will probably have heard of Ian 'The Moose' Abrahams, who will be offering his commentary to the game. West Ham TV costs from just £4.49 a month - for more information, click here.
21 mins - Just to give you a bit more information on how Big Sam has set his team up tonight, in front of Henderson is former Holland Under-21 international Lamey on the right, with O'Brien and Spence in the middle with Potts on the left. Rob Hall and George Moncur are just in front of Mohsni, with Maynard down the left, Turgott on the right and Kazim-Richards through the middle.
18 mins - Aykut Ozturk is next to go close as he forces Stephen Henderson into his first save. The Erfurt No10 was at an angle on the left but still forced the Hammers No13 into a low save. West Ham need to pick the pace up here.
16 mins - The home side have an even better chance after that. After the initial corner is cleared the ball is played back in from the right and Drexler has plenty of time to turn and shoot from eight yards out. Thankfully, his shot goes over the bar.
15 mins - Best chance of the game so far as Drexler gets down the left again. His cross is good but nobody is there to meet it. Potts is on hand to meet it at the far post and Erfurt have their second corner.
11 mins - Potts takes it but the ball is straight through to Marcus Rickert in the Erfurt goal. I'm sure Sam Allardyce and Neil McDonald will be looking for better than that as the game goes on.
10 mins - The game hasn't really got going yet, with the ball being given away quite cheaply by both sides. West Ham have a chance here, though, with a free-kick just inside the Erfurt half.
5 mins - I nearly just jumped out of my seat as the guy in front of us pulled out what looks like five air horns tied together and gave it an almighty blast. Another one then goes off behind us - we may have to get used to that!
4 min - West Ham haven't really settled yet but Stephen Henderson has the ball and finds Potts on the left. He knocks it back and the Hammers hold on to the ball.
1 min - The home side get us underway and go straight on the attack. A cross fromt the left is cleared well by Danny Potts but Erfurt come straight back and force a corner. Some loose marking affords Dominick Drexler the chance to get a header at goal but is goes high and wide.
6.59pm - I would say West Ham have around 300 fans in the stand on the far side away to our left. That is a decent turnout for a midweek game in Germay. More still are expected for Friday's big game with Dynamo Dresden. Don't worry if you can't make the game as West Ham TV will have a live broadcast.
6.58pm - And here come the teams. No 'Bubbles', but a thumping techno track almost makes up for it. Almost.
6.56pm - Joey O'Brien will be captain tonight on his first game of the pre-season and will lead the Hammers out. We've already heard 'Bubbles' once over the PA system - will we get another rendition before kick-off?
6.55pm - Well you can tell we're getting closer to kick-off as the pace of the music has picked up and the German fans are on their feet clapping along. We expect to see the teams in about five or six minutes.
6.50pm - As you will see below, the three players on trial are Bilel Mohsni, Dutch defender Michael Lamey and Colin Kazim-Richards. It is expected that West Ham will line up in the standard 4-3-3 formation with Nicky Maynard, Kazim Richards and Blair Turgott leading the line. Mohsni will play the holding midfield role.
Rot-Weiss Erfurt: Rickert, Rauw, Jovanovic, Ozturk, Mohwald, Drexler, Schiller, Pfingsten-Reddig, Czichos, Strangl, Gobel
Subs: Klewin, Oumari, Kind, Ofosu-Ayeh, Odenwald, Engelhardt, Bertram
West Ham United: Henderson, Lamey, O'Brien, Spence, Potts, Mohsni, Moncur, Hall, Turgott, Maynard, Kazim-Richards
Subs: Jaaskelainen, McCartney, Drvier, Demel, O'Neil, Noble, Taylor, Vaz Te, Baldock
6.45pm - Kick-off will be in 15 minutes and we have finally got the team news. West Ham United have named a young side with three players on trial starting for the visitors.
6.40pm - Good evening and welcome to Germany! Tonight's fixture sees West Ham United kick-off their German tour with a game against German 3.Football-Liga side Rot-Weiss Erfurt. It is a stunning evening here in east Germany and I'm told we're expecting a crowd of nearly 10,000 fans here.
We're expecting team news shortly so I'll bring that to you when I have it.
