RCD ESPANYOL v WEST HAM UNITED
CIUTAT DE BARCELONA TROPHY - MEMORIAL FERNANDO LARA
ESTADI CORNELLA-EL PRAT
THURSDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 9PM LOCAL TIME (8PM UK)
REFEREE: ALFONS ALVAREZ IZQUIERDO
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Full time: RCD Espanyol 0-1 West Ham United
90+4 mins: A great victory for the Hammers in their match with Spanish Primera Division side RCD Espanyol tonight. Mark Noble's penalty made the difference, and Ravel Morrison was a lively presence in midfield. The night was also notable for West Ham ending the game with seven Academy graduates on the pitch, who held their own against difficult opposition. The visitors can take a lot from this contest.
90 mins: Into stoppage time we go.
86 mins: Centre back Sidnei makes his way forward into the box and pokes a shot wide. The game has drifted somewhat in the last 10 minutes though, which will suit the Hammers.
83 mins: The Espanyol fans behind the left-hand goal have been amusing themselves for much of this half, by taking themselves up and down the length of the stand en masse. They've not had much to cheer on the pitch, and now Lee tries his luck with a swirling shot from range that the keeper tips around the post.
81 mins: Whistles from the home support as they demand a penalty, but Fanimo's challenge on Mattioni is a perfectly fair one - they won't get a spot kick for that.
79 mins: Morrison has looked like West Ham's most threatening player tonight and he makes another inclsive run towards the Espanyol box before laying off for Moncur. It comes to nothing, but another moment of promise from the Hammers youngster.
78 mins: Both teams make another change, Elliot Lee is on for West Ham, replacing Maiga, while Javi Lopez is on for Espanyol's Thievy.
77 mins: Victor lines up a shot for the hosts from range following a half-cleared corner, but that smacks of desperation to be honest as it drifts harmlessly wide.
75 mins: Not a huge amount to report right now. Espanyol are seeing most of the ball, but West Ham's young side are doing a good job defensively at the moment. Quite a slow tempo to the game as well.
71 mins: Time for another Hammers change, and it's time for another Academy graduate to make his entrance. Seb Lletget is on for Jarvis.
65 mins: The Hammers team is full of Academy graduates right now - the entire back four of Driver, Tomkins, Ruddock and Fanimo have come through the ranks. While Moncur is also a youth product and in midfield. A great showcase for the Academy of Football.
62 mins: West Ham make their first changes of the evening. Moncur, Driver and Fanimo are the men on. Demel, Nolan and Noble have ran their race this evening. Espanyol have als brought Simao and Victor on in the meantime.
59 mins: It's West Ham's turn to threaten now, and Maiga gets on the end of Jarvis' left wing cross, but the defender Raul does enough to get a half-block in and let the ball dribble through to his keeper.
57 mins: Espanyol are beginning to pile on the pressure now and Lanza is allowed to virtually walk into the box from his station on the right. The Hammers seem reluctant to tackle, but the ball is cleared out to full back Mattioni, whose volley is wayward.
55 mins: Good save Adrian! Morrison has his pocket picked on the edge of the box, giving Abraham the opportunity to make up for his first half concession of the penalty. He shoots low and left footed from the edge of the box, but Adrian gets down really well to make the save and push it behind for a corner.
52 mins: The chances really are flowing at the start of this second period, and half-time sub Alex looks set to level, before Tomkins throws himself in front of the ball to make a loopy block, with strikes the woodwork as Adrian scrambles back. The keeper probably had that covered, but still too close to comfort for the Hammers.s
51 mins: You know what I was saying about it being end-to-end? Well, goalkeeper German launches it long from the goal kick, and suddenly Pizzi finds himself making a run between the centre halves and in on goal. The ball just seems to be running away from him though, and he has to stretch as he tries to poke over Adrian, with the shot dribbling wide.
50 mins: It's end-to-end stuff at the start of this second half and West Ham have another corner, which Jarvis whips in from the left and Vaz Te rises to meet with a header which flies wide. Referee Alvarez had already spotted an infringement however, and awards the home team another end.
49 mins: Play quickly switches to the other end and Lanza shows a good turn of pace as he sprints into the area over in the right channel. Ruddock does well to keep up with him and force him to shoot wide of the near post as the angles tighten.
47 mins: Good effort from Taylor which brings a decent diving save from German there. Taylor advanced well from left back to get that shot away and did about as well as he could from that range.
9.01pm We're back underway for the second half and both Alex and Clerc are on for the hosts. Fuentes and Garcia the men to make way.
8.47pm Half time and the Hammers lead. Espanyol had the better of the early exchanges and struck the post through Lanza, but West Ham came back into it towards the end of the half and moved in front from Mark Noble's penalty after an Abraham handball. Join us in 15 minutes for the second half.
45+1 mins: Espanyol look for a quick response and Lanza whips in a dangerous cross from the right, but Ruddock does well to get his head to it and Morrison completes the clearance.
43 mins: GOAL! West Ham have been looking more threatening in the last five minutes and they've taken the lead right on half time! Referee Alfons Alvarez points to the spot after midfielder Abraham slides in trying to block Jarvis' cross and blocks with his arm. Noble steps up and sends the ball to the right as German dives the opposite way. 1-0 to the visitors!
41 mins: A great bit of individual trickery from Morrison gets him past a couple of challenges and quickly staring at the whites of goalkeeper German's eyes. His first shot is from a tight angle and German saves, the second is from even tighter, and another save sees West Ham win a corner.
38 mins: Vaz Te wins a corner, but is off the pitch receiving treatment when it gets taken. Nolan's delivery is cleared, but then Morrison has a chance to run outside the box and his shot is deflected behind for another. Jarvis takes this one, and Tomkins rises to head goalwards, but German is there to save.
35 mins: We have a break in play whilst a steward receives treatment by the touchline. Not entirely sure what happened there, but we're back underway now.
32 mins: The Hammers have a corner, but Noble can't bring the ball under his spell after Jarvis' delivery is cleared. Espanyol nip in to take possession and they break quickly on the visitors, with Thievy looking to streak clear. Luckily, Adrian is alert to the danger and sprints off his line to slide in and clear.
30 mins: Good battling back from Morrison to retrieve the ball after he had initially given it away near his own box. He passes to Jarvis, who in turn feeds Taylor to make the clearance.
28 mins: Better from West Ham as they fashion an attack down the left. Nolan plays a one-two of sorts off the defender when, trying to cross, the ball rebounds to him and the skipper takes on an instant shot which flies high and wide.
26 mins: Kevin Nolan is penalised, harshly it looks, for a foul of Thievy just outside the box, and Espanyol go desperately close from the free-kick, as Lanza's left-footed effort cannons against the near post with Adrian struggling to get across his goal. The home side are getting closer.
21 mins: Thievy is proving to be a tricky customer right now, and his run takes him across the face of the area, before he lays off to Pizzi, whose shot is wasteful and over the bar. A bit of a let off for West Ham there. Meanwhile, the stadium breaks into applause to remember Dani Jarque, the Espanyol defender who tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 26 in 2009.
20 mins: Not to be outdone, the Hammers fans in the corner have unleashed a number of claret and blue balloons. There's certainly a bit of colour inside the stadium.
19 mins: The crowd may be fairly sparse inside the 40,500-seater Estadi Cornella-El Prat, but those inside are making their fair share of noise. There are a group oof fans behind the goal the Hammers are attacking waving their flags in unison, and they're joined by a similar group over in the near corner.
17 mins: Matt Jarvis looks to use his speed down the left and seems to have got away from the centre half Sidnei who has comr cross to try and stop the Hammers man. However, he is knocked down and referee Alvarez awards a free kick. West Ham opt to play it short, working it across to the other flank, but eventually losing possession to a goal kick.
14 mins: First real moment of danger for the Hammers as Espanyol find themselves two-on-two in the left channel. Pizzi makes the run with the ball and waits for Thievy to peel off before finding him just inside the area. The home attacker sidesteps Ruddock and takes the shot on from 15 yards, but Tomkins flies across in time to make the block. 0-0.
12 mins: Mark Noble makes a penetrating run in off the right flank, beating the first man and drawing a foul 22 yards out. Decent shooting opportunity, but Taylor's effort thuds into the wall and Espanyol hack away to safety. In fact, they have a dangerous break on, but Adrian comes off his line well to avert the danger.
9 mins: West Ham now have the chance to attack down the left and Matt Jarvis and Taylor work the ball to engineer a crossing opportunity for the former, but his ball drifts into goalkeeper German's hands.
6 mins: Youngster Pelly Ruddock is given a chance to shine in the heart of the Hammers defence tonight, alongside James Collins. Ruddock tries to play a backpass to Adrian, back playing in his home country, and although the pass is slightly overhit, Adrian does well to only concede a throw in. The Hammers clear and are now back in possession.
4 mins: The small band of Hammers fans away to our right are making themselves heard with a rendition of Bubbles. We spoke to a few of them before the game for West Ham TV and found plenty of Barcelona-based Hammers. Great to see them supporting their team so close to home.
3 mins It has been a fairly slow start to the action here in Barcelona. Kevin Nolan tries to slip Ricardo Vaz Te in down the right, but the pass has too much weight on it and runs out for a goal kick.
8.00pm After a false start, Matt Jarvis and Ravel Morrison get us underway. Come on you Irons!
7.57pm The teams are out on the pitch and it's almost time for kick-off! Watch live on West Ham TV!
7.50pm The teams are playing for the Ciutat de Barcelona - Fernando Lara Trophy tonight, a game that's normally played in pre-season but has moved to the international break this year. An English team has never triumphed in this match, with Liverpool the last participants in 2009, when they lost 3-0 to the hosts Espanyol.
7.45pm Kick-off is now only 15 minutes away and the team news is in.
West Ham United: Adrian; Demel, Tomkins, Ruddock, Taylor; Nolan, Noble, Morrison; Vaz Te, Maiga, Jarvis
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Lee, Moncur, Lletget, Driver, Fanimo
RCD Espanyol: German, Mattioni, Raul, Sidnei, Thievy, Garcia, Pizzi, Lanza, D.Lopez, Fuentes, Abraham
Subs: Pau, Victor, Teiera, J.Lopez, Colotto, Simao, Alex, Clerc
7.05pm A very warm welcome to you from the Estadi Cornella El-Prat, Barcelona!
We're in position for tonight's friendly game between RCD Espanyol and West Ham United, which is being screen live on West Ham TV.
The Hammers have travelled to Spain for a competitive test against top-flight Spanish opposition during the international break, keen to put Saturday's 1-0 loss to Stoke City behind them.
Espanyol have enjoyed a strong start to their season, having taken five points from their opening three games, and Javier Aguirre's side are sure to provide a stern test.
We'll have team news very shortly.
West Ham United: Adrian; Demel, Tomkins, Ruddock, Taylor; Nolan, Noble, Morrison; Vaz Te, Maiga, Jarvis
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Lee, Moncur, Lletget, Driver, Fanimo
RCD Espanyol: German, Mattioni, Raul, Sidnei, Thievy, Garcia, Pizzi, Lanza, D.Lopez, Fuentes, Abraham
Subs: Pau, Victor, Teiera, J.Lopez, Colotto, Simao, Alex, Clerc
