Boreham Wood v West Ham United U21s
Pre-Season Match, Mangata Pay UK Stadium, Meadow Park, Friday 25 July 2025, 7.30pm BST
As preparations for the 2025/26 competitive season continue, West Ham United U21s travel to newly promoted National League side Boreham Wood on Friday evening for their latest pre-season fixture.
The young Hammers have so far had four tests against senior opposition, the latest of which was a hard-fought goalless draw at League One side Northampton Town.
With the fixture coinciding with the first team’s participation in the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, U21s lead coach Mark Robson will be without a handful of his regulars who are currently gaining valuable experience in the senior set-up. Alongside Academy graduates Ollie Scarles, Lewis Orford, Callum Marshall and Kaelan Casey, current development players Finlay Herrick, Preston Fearon and second-year scholars Lanre Awesu and Airidas Golambeckis are also part of Graham Potter’s travelling squad.
Tickets…
Supporters can watch the U21s in action at Meadow Park on Friday by purchasing tickets HERE. The fixture will not be segregated and tickets are priced as follows.
Category | Price |
Adults | £15 |
65+ | £15 |
U18s | £10 |
U14s | £5 |
U5s | FREE |
Travel…
To reach Meadow Park (WD6 5AL) from east London or Essex, the easiest route is to take the M25 westbound around the north section from Essex into Hertfordshire. Exit the M25 at Junction 23, join the A1 towards London, and take the first exit onto the A5135 towards Borehamwood. Continue into the town centre, go straight over the first mini-roundabout, then at the larger roundabout take the second exit onto Brook Road (signposted ‘Boreham Wood Football Club). Turn next right onto Broughinge Road; the stadium entrance is on the right. Supporters should use the Brook Road pay-and-display car park.
By train, the nearest station is Elstree & Borehamwood, on the Thameslink line from St Pancras to Luton and Bedford. From the station, it’s under a mile to walk, or you can take the 292 bus.
How To Follow…
You can follow all the action via our live blog on whufc.com. We will also have a match report and post-match reaction for you after the final whistle on our website, with highlights available on Saturday morning.
Opposition…
Boreham Wood finished the season with eight consecutive wins in a famously competitive National League South campaign, which saw seven teams go into the final six games separated by just seven points. Three of those wins came in the play-offs as they returned to the National League at the first time of asking, having been relegated to the sixth tier for the first time in ten years.
Their summer preparations have included a blend of tests against higher-league opponents, such as Watford (Championship) and Luton Town (League One), as well as matches against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur’s development squads, both of which ended in 2-2 draws.
Boreham Wood and West Ham United last met in a pre-season fixture in July 2023, when a mixed squad of first-team and development players secured a 4-1 victory. Goals on that occasion came from Jarrod Bowen, Danny Ings, Kamarai Swyer and Gideon Kodua.
Ones To Watch…
Despite only completing his scholarship this summer, Emeka Adiele has plenty of experience at U21s level. A regular in Mark Robson’s side last season, which saw them finish fourth out of 26 teams in Premier League 2, the 17-year-old full-back also played a massive part in the U18s' success in the Premier League Cup, where he started every knockout game, providing two assists. A really pacey winger with excellent technical ability, Adiele has proven to be an important attacking outlet for the U21s, especially against senior sides, and was part of the first-team's week-long training camp in the Black Forest of southern Germany last week.
Boreham Wood’s excellent late-season charge would not have been possible without the goal contributions of striker Matt Rush. A product of the Southend United's academy, Rush joined Boreham Wood in January 2025, scoring a brace on his debut. With the top seven separated by just seven points and only one automatic promotion spot available, Rush netted eight goals in the final five matches to help secure a play-off place. He continued his form in the post-season, scoring and assisting in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals before lifting the trophy with a 1-0 win over Maidstone United, the club he had represented earlier in the campaign on loan. Rush has picked up where he left off this summer with three goals already in pre-season and will be looking to add to his tally against the young Hammers.
The Story So Far…
West Ham United U21s have so far played four pre-season fixtures against senior opposition, three National League South sides tipped for promotion in Worthing, Ebbsfleet United and Maidenhead United, and, most recently, earned a goalless draw against League One Northampton Town.
Elsewhere, seven of Mark Robson’s young Hammers were involved in the first team’s pre-season trip to Germany (Mohamadou Kanté, Finlay Herrick, Lanre Awesu, Ezra Mayers, Emeka Adiele, Preston Fearon and Airidas Golambeckis).
Joining Academy graduates Ollie Scarles, Kaelan Casey, George Earthy, Lewis Orford, Callum Marshall and Freddie Potts, development squad players Kanté, Herrick, Awesu, Fearon and Golambeckis have linked up with Graham Potter and the first-team once again for their pre-season tour of the United States for the Premier League Summer Series.
