West Ham United 3-1 Brown Ballers FC
TST, WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina, USA, Wednesday 4 June 2025, 9.30am EST (2.30pm BST)
West Ham United got their The Soccer Tournament (TST) campaign off to the perfect start with a 3-1 victory over Brown Ballers FC at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
Aarush Kamath scored for Brown Ballers on a rare foray forward to hand them the lead, but after boyhood Hammer Devin Vega levelled almost instantly, West Ham took centre stage.
Leo De Oliveira's strike powered the Irons in front, with Justin Stinson’s wonder-goal winner coming inside the opening minute of Target Score Time to seal the full share of the spoils.
We bossed the opening stages, and peppered the Brown Ballers' goal with a host of early attempts. Captain Robert Palmer and Lesia Thetsane saw a couple of sighters from outside the box blocked, while Rahul KP couldn't quite connect with a right-wing cut-back.
With Brown Ballers struggling to create anything of note, the Hammers kept up the pressure as Vega was denied by a diving Nathan Beckett, and Mo Ali and Rian Marques saw long-range efforts blocked.
There was a let-off for West Ham with just under four minutes of the opening half left on the clock. Hakirmat Malhi robbed possession but was brilliantly denied one-on-one by Clayson De Lima before Aveneesh Kamath’s curling effort was tipped over at full stretch.
Into the second-half, and after Hammers icon Mauro Zárate had a free-kick blocked, Brown Ballers went up the other end and took the lead as Aarush Kamath charged forward with the ball at his feet and fired into the top corner.
But West Ham’s response was instant and emphatic, as Puerto Rico international Vega restored parity after 28 minutes with a fine strike that Beckett could not keep out.
Brown Ballers, much to their credit, fought valiantly as Tarun Karumanchi’s lobbed strike and Ammit Bhogal’s powerful effort forced smart reaction saves from De Lima.
With the clock ticking towards full-time, De Oliveira bagged a late second to turn the game on its head and put us ahead, while at the other end, Hamza Moosvi spurned a gilt-edged chance to level for Brown Ballers at the death.
And with a Target Score of three set, Stinson, who scored our two goals in our pre-tournament friendly with Borussia Dortmund on Monday, scored a goal worthy of winning any match inside the opening minute of Target Score Time, firing a sumptuous shot into the far corner of the net to wrap up victory in our opening group-stage clash.
Starting VII: De Lima, Palmer ©, Thetsane, Vega, Stinson, Marques, Rahul KP
Subs: Orozco (GK), Ferdinand, Periera, Palmer, Sousa, De Oliviera, Anderaos, De Andrade, Ali, Fiennes Tiffin, Vaz Tê, Zárate
Goals: Vega, De Oliveira, Stinson
Booked: Sousa, Anderaos
Vedral: I’m very excited and proud of the boys
West Ham United Head Coach Dillon Vedral was happy to see his side get off to the perfect start in North Carolina after a stunning second-half comeback at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The Hammers were behind to Aarush Kamath's strike, but goals from Devin Vega, Leo De Oliviera and Justin Stinson capped off a 3-1 win against Brown Ballers FC.
Vedral was particularly pleased with how his squad overcame any adversity, such as the humid conditions in North Carolina, to get their World Championship bid off to the perfect start.
Reflecting on the victory, he said: “I’m very excited and proud of the boys.
“We’re focused on one game at a time, and obviously we had a couple of first-game nerves there.
“It was a question of when there was some adversity, how were we going to react, and I think at the end of the day we responded to it and got the victory.
“Leo [De Oliviera] stepped up and put us ahead, and then [Justin] Stinson saw that gap where he could take some time on the dribble and capped it off with a wonderful finish.
“They (Brown Ballers) parked the bus [after going ahead]. They played the 4-2 and wanted to get on the counter-attack.
“We were trying to figure out how to break down that strong back line, and we did. It was a great finish from Devin [Vega], and it really set the tone of the game and helped propel us to victory. I'm very happy with the boys.
“We had a great dinner last night, which brought that team chemistry and camaraderie together. And at the end of the day, I made some changes that I felt were going to be made for the better, and the players didn't react negatively because they believe in one another.
“We have the talent to go very far in this tournament if we have our head on straight and the ball bounces the right way.
“We've got loads of fans shouting us on from up in the crowd and are excited about West Ham. We have kids pulling players aside, taking pictures, and they're very, very happy to see West Ham back in North Carolina.”
