West Ham United 0-1 Villarreal
TST, WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina, USA, Wednesday 4 June 2025, 5.30pm EST (10.30pm BST)
West Ham United face a crucial final group match to reach the knockout stages of The Soccer Tournament (TST) after a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Villarreal on Wednesday evening.
After kicking off the tournament with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Brown Ballers FC earlier in the day, the Hammers dominated proceedings against the Spanish side and were unfortunate not to secure another win that would have guaranteed their place in the last 32.
However, despite coming close to breaking the deadlock on several occasions, there was no way through and, having stubbornly played out a 0-0 draw in normal time, Villarreal grabbed a golden-goal winner in the third minute of Target Score Time, when defender Sergi Sánchez volleyed in from the edge of the box.
The result means that West Ham go into their final Group G fixture against TenFifteen FC on Thursday needing a win to be certain of progress to the knockout stages as one of the top two placed teams - although qualifying as one of the strongest third-placed teams would remain a possibility even in the event of a defeat.
The Hammers made a bright start and almost opened the scoring inside the first minute, when Rian Marques headed Justin Stinson’s cross narrowly wide. Marques came close again on the ten-minute mark with a close-range effort that was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper.
Head Coach Dillon Vedral’s team enjoyed the lion’s share of first-half possession against a Villarreal side containing former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi, and created further chances before the break. Leo De Oliveira fired a left-footed strike just wide, Erik Pereira had a shot saved and Stinson - match-winning hero in the opening tie - had a stinging shot deflected over.
The domination continued in the second half. De Oliveira saw an effort tipped round the post, then came closest to scoring with a blistering strike that skimmed the top of the bar. At the other end, Hammers keeper Claysson De Lima had little to do, as Villarreal retreated further back and appeared content to play out for Target Score Time.
Nilton De Andrade almost snatched a winner when he won possession on the edge of the Villarreal box, but saw his effort smothered by the keeper, while striker Devin Vega tried his hardest to find a pocket of space with some trickery and pace late on, but still couldn’t find the decisive breakthrough before the end of normal time, leaving a sudden-death scenario of a Target Score of one goal.
After three minutes, each team had a player withdrawn to leave it 6v6, and just moments later Sánchez struck the winner after a corner was floated in from the left, leaving the Hammers crestfallen and in need of a big performance on Thursday to keep the TST dream alive.
Starting VII: De Lima, Palmer ©, Thetsane, De Andrade, Vega, Stinson, Marques
Subs: Orozco (GK), Ferdinand, Collins, Pereira, Palmer, Sousa, De Oliveira, Anderaos, Mo Ali, Fiennes Tiffin, Vaz Tê, Zárate, Rahul KP
Collins: We will bounce back against TenFifteen FC
West Ham United hero James Collins admitted the 1-0 loss to Villarreal was a sickening blow after his side had dominated impressively for long periods of their second TST Group G match.
The La Liga outfit's hit-them-on-the-break plan ultimately bore fruit when, with hardly an attack to their name, Sergi Sánchez scored a clever, well-worked winning goal in Target Score Time.
“Obviously we’re disappointed with tonight, but the boys gave it their all,” said Collins.
“I thought the lads were especially unlucky tonight, as they had most of the ball, and in these small-sided games, sometimes it comes down to small margins. It’s disappointing, but overall, the standard has been tremendous.
“I don’t think we have to do anything different tomorrow (against TenFifteen FC). The boys know what they’re doing, and they’ve done it all before.
“Of course, it would have been easier if we had won tonight, as we would’ve qualified, but that just makes the next game more important.
“We’ve got a good group of players here, and they’re understandably bitterly disappointed today, so we will make sure we rest and recover tonight and get the win tomorrow.
“The support from the West Ham fans has been incredible, and no matter where you go in the world, they will always turn up and support us.
“We’ve got one of, if not the best, sets of supporters out here, and the fans deserve massive credit for that. Hopefully we can turn up again tomorrow, and we can get the victory for them.”
