Graham Potter praised his players for sticking to their task and coming from behind to beat LOSC Lille on penalties in their final pre-season clash before the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
Little under five weeks after first reporting back for training at Rush Green, and following productive trips away to Germany and the USA, the Hammers were back at London Stadium for their fifth outing of the summer on Saturday, with the clock quickly ticking down to next week’s all important trip to Sunderland.
With three wins - against Grasshopper Club Zürich in the Swiss capital, Everton in Chicago and AFC Bournemouth in Atlanta - and a narrow defeat to Manchester United in New Jersey to their name, Potter’s troops went into the clash in good form, and were a good match for their opponents in the early stages.
Lille, who are set to compete in the UEFA Europa League during 2025/26 after finishing fifth in Ligue 1 last term, took the lead with virtually the last kick of the first half, when ex-Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud impressively chested down a ball over the top and finished past Alphonse Areola.
After some sustained West Ham pressure, Niclas Füllkrug notched an equaliser three minutes before the end to force a penalty shootout, in which Alphonse Areola proved the hero with two saves to seal the win and the Pre-Season Cup.
Speaking to whufc.com, Potter took time to reflect on a strong overall pre-season period, while singling out Füllkrug and El Hadji Malick Diouf for praise, with the latter having impressed all afternoon.
The Head Coach also reserved a mention for new recruit Mads Hermansen, with the Danish goalkeeper signing half-an-hour before kick-off against Lille and subsequently being introduced to the London Stadium crowd.
It was a good way to sign off for the summer.
We suffered at times today, because we were playing against a good team, who played Champions League football last year. They’re a talented side with the ball in possession, so that did force us back a bit.
But I like the spirit of the team, and I thought we were better in the second half. I also think we still created some opportunities in the first half, too.
Overall, the pleasing thing is that the team kept going, and we had opportunities to score. I thought we created some good chances, and it’s obviously nice to finish pre-season off with a good feeling.
Today probably rounds off a positive pre-season for us. It’s been a tough week in terms of getting back from the US and everything, but it was a good workout, good minutes for the boys and we move forward.
We know there’s always room for improvement, and we don’t take things for granted, because we know it’s still just pre-season.
Our next match is against Sunderland in the Premier League, which is going to be a totally different challenge, but at the same time I was really pleased with the spirit of some of our attacking play, for sure.
I thought Malick (El Hadji Malick Diouf) was a real plus for us - you can see his quality, and what he brings in terms of his energy down the left-hand side of the pitch.
As I said, I think the boys responded well to playing a talented team, particularly in the second half.
As well as Malick, it was great to see Fülle (Niclas Füllkrug) get his goal, as well.
I think he’d be the first to say - like the team - that he could maybe have done more towards the start of the game, but again his response to keep going was great and he got his goal.
I thought he was unlucky with a couple of other opportunities, as well. He shows what he brings to the team, which is a focal point, and he’s also a goal threat with great quality and intensity, so he’s a big asset for us.
Mads [Hermansen] is a goalkeeper who has good experience in the Premier League, and I think he’s got his best years ahead of him as well.
He’ll come into the group with Alphonse [Areola] and Wes [Foderingham] and add real competition, which is what I think we need. It’s a good signing for us.
Generally, the four or five weeks we’ve had in pre-season have been really positive.
I couldn’t have asked for any more in terms of how open and responsive the players have been to what we’ve been trying to do. Everyone’s been trying to connect - staff and players - and it’s a good feeling.
But we also know we’re going into the Premier League now and we have to regroup and focus again. There’s a week to go, and we’re all really looking forward to the match up in Sunderland.
