WHUFC.com
All the team news and background information as West Ham United face the
Greek champions
22.07.2010
Pre-season friendly
Panathinaikos FC v West Ham United
Fussballplatz, Kitzbuhel, Austria
Friday 23 July 2010
Kick-off: 6.30pm
Introduction
. West Ham United will take on Greek champions Panathinaikos FC in the
Austrian town of Kitzbuhel on Friday evening.
. The pre-season friendly, which will kick-off at 6.30pm local time, will be
the Hammers' third outing since the squad returned to training on 5 July. So
far, Avram Grant's men have secured victories over League One outfit
Peterborough United (2-1) and German side VfL Borussia Monchengladbach
(2-0).
. The match will be the second of two contested by West Ham during their
pre-season training camp, with last Saturday's win over VfL Borussia
Monchengladbach taking place in the picturesque town of Ruhpolding in
south-east Germany.
Last meeting
. West Ham United took on Panathinaikos in the club's only previous meeting
at the Makita International Tournament at Arsenal's former Highbury home on
4 August 1991.
. George Parris gave Billy Bonds' side the lead, only for Panathinaikos to
equalise and take the third-place play-off to a penalty shootout.
Unfortunately, despite Ludek Miklosko saving the Greeks' first penalty,
misses from Ian Bishop, Simon Livett and Martin Allen meant defeat for the
Hammers.
Last time out
Saturday 17 July 2010
Pre-season friendly
VfL Borussia Monchengladbach 0-2 West Ham United
West Ham United: Kurucz (Stech 46), Faubert (Fry 59), Gabbidon (Da Costa
46), Tomkins (Spence 81), Ilunga (Daprela 46), Dyer (Kovac 46), Noble
(Montano 59), Hitzlsperger (Edgar 70), Boa Morte (Diamanti 59), Sears
(Stanislas 59), Cole (McCarthy 46)
Goals: Cole 33, McCarthy 51
Tuesday 20 July 2010
Pre-season friendly
Panathinaikos FC 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Panathinaikos FC: Karnezis (Galinovic 46) Bjarsmyr (Machlelis 84) Sarriegi,
Kante, Melissis, Marinos (Fetsis 84) Assets (Lagos 61), Gabriel (Black 61),
Leto (Rukavina 61), Cleyton (Dimoutsos 61), Petropoulos (Stampolzief 69).
Goals: Gabriel 8, 60, Rukavina 69
West Ham United
. Avram Grant's West Ham United will be aiming to continue the bright start
they have made to their pre-season schedule, which has seen them defeat
League One new boys Peterborough United (2-1) at London Road and German
Bundesliga challengers VfL Borussia Monchengladbach (2-0) in Ruhpolding.
. West Ham will continue their pre-season preparations with further trips to
MK Dons and Ipswich Town before completing their warm-up fixtures with the
visit of Spanish Primera Division club RC Deportivo La Coruna to the Boleyn
Ground for the SBOBET Cup tie on Saturday 7 August.
. Carlton Cole has been in fine form in pre-season scoring in both successes
so far. Benni McCarthy also enjoyed a fine evening against VfL Borussia
Monchengladbach, netting his first goal for the club with a fine
half-volley.
. Young professionals Matt Fry, Anthony Edgar and Cristian Montano have all
signed new contracts with the club and will hope to impress the new manager
if they are given the chance to do so against Panathinaikos.
. A number of players have departed from West Ham since the end of the
2009/10 season. Josh Payne, Bondz N'Gala, Ilan, Guille Franco, Davide
Ferrari, Danny Kearns, Terry Dixon and Tony Brookes have all moved on after
their respective contracts expired, while Mido's short-term loan from
Middlesbrough was not renewed.
. Grant's side will kick-off their Premier League campaign with a trip to
Aston Villa on Saturday 14 August.
Panathinaikos FC
. Athens-based Panathinaikos FC are the reigning Greek champions after
winning the Super League championship for the 20th time in 2009/10. The club
also won the Greek Cup to complete a domestic double.
. The Greens are coached by Nikos Nioplias, a former OFI Crete,
Panathinaikos and Greece midfielder who previously coached the Greece U19
and U21 squads before taking over at the Olympic Stadium in December 2009.
As a player, Nioplias won two Super League titles and three Greek Cups with
Panathinaikos and one Greek Cup with OFI Crete.
. The club provided ten players at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, meaning only
Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich supplied more. The ten were
Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva, France forward Djibril Cisse and Greece
internationals Giourkas Seitaridis, Nikos Spiropoulos, Giorgos Karagounis,
Loukas Vyntra, Alexandros Tzorvas, Dimitris Salpigidis, Sotiris Ninis and
Kostas Katsouranis.
. Panathinaikos have brought in France forward Sidney Govou on a free
transfer after the 30-year-old's contract expired at Olympique Lyonnais.
. The Greek champions will be hoping to succeed in Europe in 2010/11 after a
disappointing 2009/10 campaign in continental competition. Panathinaikos
were defeated 5-2 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions
League play-off round and dropped into the UEFA Europa League. There, they
were knocked out in the last-16 by Standard Liege.
Team news
. .Manager Avram Grant is unlikely to use any of his four FIFA World Cup
players - namely Robert Green, Jonathan Spector, Matthew Upson and Valon
Behrami - as they only returned to training this week.
. .Scott Parker and Freddie Piquionne were also late arrivals into
pre-season training, so the manager may decide to hold them back for next
week's friendlies against MK Dons and Ipswich Town.
. Otherwise the manager has a full complement of players to choose from,
with everyone coming through a full week's training.
. Only Pablo Barrera and the injured duo of Jack Collison and Zavon Hines
are not with the squad in Bavaria.
General information
. The weather forecast is for an overcast day with a top temperature of
around 22C.
. Tickets will be available on the day, priced at 10 euros.
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Panathinaikos 0-1 West Ham United FT
WHUFC.com
23.07.2010
Pre-season friendly
Panathinaikos FC v West Ham United
Fussballplatz, Kitzbuhel, Austria
Friday 23 July 2010
There goes the final whistle. Another game, another win for Avram Grant. The
summer stay in Germany/Austria has gone very well and the Hammers will head
home at the weekend on a real high. Pablo Barrera and Frederic Piquionne
will add to the feelgood factor next week when West Ham United go to MK Dons
and Ipswich Town on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.
Full time - Panathinaikos 0-1 West Ham United
90min - A quick counter and Montano only just misses Stanislas's cross. We
are deep into two minutes added time here.
90min - Outstanding from Diamanti in a defensive position. Just as Vyntra
tried to work an opening in the area, the Italian timed his challenge well
before a bit of skill eased the danger.
90min - Last minute here and the Hammers might just pull off another
victory. Excellent work all round has been the order of the day, with the
defence standing firm. Hitzlsperger will take the headlines with his goal
but the return of Scott Parker is another major plus.
88min - McCarthy had done well to head clear Ninis's shot after the corner.
Ninis then had another go and it ran through to Kurucz. Good pair of hands
again from the keeper.
87min - Fry is penalised to the left of the Hammers area. ANother chance for
Ninis to attack the goalmouth with a free-kick. The ball hits two players
and runs out for a corner. That was close. 'Focus' shouts Keen from the
bench.
86min - Spence clears another Greek ball into the area. They are pushing
hard and the Hammers forwards have seen little of the ball. This is a
rearguard action for the young Hammers. Montano is penalised for a late
foul.
84min - Diamanti squares up to Vyntra. The Italian was unhappy with that
challenge.
82min - Kovac does well to deny Ninis, just as the youngster shaped to
shoot.
81min - Brilliant tackle from Sarrigi denies Dyer as he surged forward. He
had been played through superbly by a defence-splitting pass from Diamanti.
80min - Fry clears the danger from Ninis. The Greek side seem to be gaining
the upper hand as we enter the final ten minutes.
79min - Yellow card to Kovac for a foul on Dimoutsos.
78min - Petropoulos gets another shot away and this time it deflects off Fry
for a corner. McCarthy does the job at the near post and the danger is
cleared.
There is a big onus here on the likes of Dyer, Kovac, Diamanti and McCarthy
to help the younger lads. The Greek side are vastly more experienced.
77min - Great save Kurucz from Petropoulos's low shot. He was not to know
that the Greek substitute had been flagged offside.
75min - Understandably the game has become a little disjointed. The Hammers
fans are still in good voice, singing Twist and Shout. I have primed the PA
announcer to play the Beatles' version at the final whistle.
73min - More changes. Tomkins is off for Fry, Da Costa is off for Spence and
Noble is replaced by Cristian Montano. The Colombian youngster is the most
advanced, just ahead of McCarthy.
72min - A little period of pressure involving Ninis, ends with Da Costa
glancing the ball into Kurucz's hands. Not sure how much the imposing
centre-back meant that.
70min - Diamanti sends one that looks like it is going to the top corner
before Marinos blocks. The corner from Noble is comfortably claimed by
Karnezis.
69min - Stanislas fires in a cross from the right but Sears cannot get in
front of his marker. The ball is cleared.
67min - Haris Mayrias is coming on for Panathinaikos. Leto makes way.
65min - The match has to settle down again. The changes have disrupted what
flow there was.
63min - The Hammers are lining up with McCarthy just off Sears. Daprela has
gone to left-back while Diamanti and Stanislas will support the attack from
the
wide positions.
61min - Diamanti only just misses out on finding Noble with a deep cross.
Antonis Petropoulos is on for Rukavina and Robert Vyntra is on for Josu
Sarrigi. For us, Ilunga is coming off for Fabio Daprela, Boa Morte is coming
off for Junior Stanislas, Cole makes way for Benni McCarthy and Freddie
Sears replaces Faubert.
60min - It is a very overcast evening now and the floodlights are not
helping to lift the gloom too much. The brand new Macron away kit is looking
the part though and the Hammers are still unbeaten in it in this their third
match of the summer.
59min - Foul by Ilunga allows Simao to cross. He pings it across the penalty
area but no one can get there in time.
57min - Panathinaikos will be playing in the UEFA Champions League this year
after theri Greek double triumph last season. They also were superb in a 3-1
win against VfL Wolfsburg earlier this week. Ninis, fresh from the FIFA
World Cup, shows his class with a long-ranger that just goes wide.
56min - Cole misplaces a pass just as Diamanti threatened to beat the
offside trap. It is pretty even stuff this half.
55min - David Coles barks out support for Kurucz. The coaching staff are
constantly talking to the players, with Coles, Groves and Kevin Keen all
making their presence heard. Manager Grant surveys the scene and looks deep
in concentration.
54min - Dyer upends Ninis. A chance here for Panathinaikos to put pressure
on Kurucz. Young prodigy Ninis takes but the ball is well claimed by Kurucz.
53min - Dyer looks lively in the full-back role. It is a position he knows
well from his Newcastle United and England days.
52min - Cole tries to launch an attack down the right wing. He is supported
by Dyer but the Greek defenders do their job well.
50min - Spyropoulos wins a corner with a deflected effort of Dyer. The ball
is crossed in and Da Costa rises majestically to head clear. Another corner
is soon won by the Greek side but this time Cole does his job at the near
post.
48min - The fans are weighing in with the banter. They are all having a good
time. Panathinaikos are trying to build slowly. Bjarsmyr, Gabriel and
Cleyton have all made way for Sotoris Ninis - the young star of Greece -
Glin Dimoutsos and the experienced Giourkas Seitaridis.
47min - Faubert continues in his advanced role to the right of Cole.
Diamanti is in the advanced left-hand position and Boa Morte has switched to
central midfield.
46min - The Hammers get us under way. Peter Kurucz has replaced Marek Stech
while further forward Radoslav Kovac, Kieron Dyer and Alessandro Diamanti
are on for Danny Gabbidon, Scott Parker and Thomas Hitzlsperger. Dyer has
gone to right-back with Tomkins in the centre now alongside Da Costa.
You will have to bear with me in this second half. There will be plenty of
changes so apologies in advance if it all gets a bit confusing at times. I
am watching this game in a little wooden hut on the halfway line but half
the pitch is obscured by a cameraman.
Half-time - Panathinaikos 0-1 West Ham United
45min - The half-time whistle sounds. Well done West Ham United. If you get
the chance to see Hitzlsperger play against RC Deportivo La Coruna on
Saturday 7 August, you should be there. The midfielder looks the part and
has shown early signs of a good understanding with Noble and Parker.
45min - Da Costa rises above everyone else in the area to head away a Leto
corner. The former Liverpool man's delivery was good but Da Costa was not
letting that one past.
44min - Avram Grant will be delighted with the way his team have stuck to
the task in this half. They have been competitive and stuck to the task from
the first whistle.
42min - 'Well done Hitz' is heard and rightly so. The German midfielder has
been a revelation since the moment he has arrived. His first goal was just
reward for his positive play in all three pre-season matches.
42min - GOAL! - Hitzlsperger scores with a low free-kick from 18 yards. Boa
Morte touched it to him and Der Hammer did the rest. May have been a slight
deflection.
41min - Tomkins does brilliantly to advance to the edge of the penalty area
from the right wing. He was taken out just as he was about to cross, giving
a free-kick chance for Hitzlsperger.
40min - Parker tries to find Faubert on the left wing but the pass is too
strong. The No8 and reigning Hammer of the Year is doing well to find space
in the crowded centre of the pitch.
39min - Good feet from Gabriel works a shooting opportunity. His 20-yard
shot skims the turf and into Stech's grateful grasp. Good hands from the
Czech Under-21 keeper.
38min - Cole gets a chance to head for goal but his effort never troubled
Karnezis. Ilunga, seconds before, had nearly tricked his way past two
defenders and into the box before a desperate lunge saved the day for the
Greek side.
36min - Faubert and Boa Morte have swapped wings. Hitzlsperger just does a
lovely feint in midfield to pass his opponent. Despite the conditions, he
looks class.
35min - Parker, Hitzlsperger and Noble look a good midfield three. They are
trying to play one-touch football whenever they get the chance.
34min - This time it is Cole who is penalised for jumping too strongly
against Simao.
33min - Ilunga leaves Marinos on the floor with what looked a high boot. He
has not shirked one challenge.
32min - Still too many passes are going astray from both sides. The
conditions are having a huge impact on the teams' attempts to play a passing
game.
31min - Boa Morte and Ilunga are up for this. They are marshalling the
left-side with strong tackles that leave nothing to chance.
30min - Stech has been the busier of the two keepers and has coped well with
the slippery surface. We are playing with the Premier League ball, by the
way.
Another stoppage, this time for a Noble foul on Cleyton.
29min - Pablo Barrera will join up with his new team-mates on Monday, ahead
of the Wednesday trip to MK Dons. That's when Frederic Piquionne may well
make his debut, and the World Cup quartet of Robert Green, Jonathan Spector,
Matthew Upson and Valon Behrami could come back into contention.
28min - Boa Morte is being urged to push on by Groves. The Hammers have not
been able to find a way through yet, however. The Greek side look very well
organised.
26min - Well done Da Costa. The Hammers had been crowded out in midfield
after a promising move. A quick counter saw the Greeks surge forward but the
Portuguese defender times his tackle well.
25min - There is quite a sizeable crowd here now and most have thought to
bring an umbrella. Very wise decision. We have had a succession of
Panathinaikos throws here.
24min - Noble deflects the retaken free-kick and it loops up a Greek
attacker and just bounces wide of Stech's left-hand post.
23min - Gabbidon clears a crossed ball. The Wales defender has looked strong
this summer. Foul by Boa Morte on Gabriel gives the Greek champions a
free-kick right on the edge of the area. Gabriel takes it and Noble blocks
by running out too quickly. No yellow card to Noble, though.
21min - Still the rain comes down. The squad had about a 90-minute drive to
get here from their Bavarian base in Grassau.
20min - Corner ball after Hitzlsperger's drive is deflected wide by Josu
Sapriggi. Noble to take. Come on you Irons rings out. Excellent headed
clearance from Stelios Marinos.
19min - Foul by Simao on Hitzlsperger. Neither side has really clicked as
demonstrated by an offside call against Herita Ilunga. No, I stand
correction. Free-kick to the Hammers after a foul on Boa Morte. The ball is
back in midfield.
18min - Lovely pass from Hitzlsperger out to Faubert. The move eventually
breaks down with a chipped ball from Cole. The striker is being paid close
attention
and has not had much of a look-in just yet.
17min - Da Costa blocks again. The Hammers then get a period of possession
in midfield.
16min - Foul on the halfway line by Faubert on Sebastian Leto.
14min - An important touch from Da Costa as Mattias Bjarsmyr tries to start
an attack. Someone has a drum and is banging out a good beat. No vuvezelas
here
thankfully.
13min - Some security guards have forced the Greek fans to put out their
flares. Fun's over lads. Bubbles is still being sung while Paul Groves hands
out instructions to Noble and Luis Boa Morte.
12min - Lovely 25-yard effort from Noble that just was just tipped wide by
Karnezis. From the resulting Noble corner, Tomkins gets clattered in the
face and requires treatment.
11min - Another offside, this time against Ante Rukavina. The game is a bit
scrappy, perhaps understandably given the conditions.
10min - Some Greek supporters on the far side have lit a bright pink flare.
Meanwhile, the Hammers fans just keep on singing Bubbles.
9min - Danny Gabbidon executes a great sliding tackle to deny the dangerous
Gabriel. The same attacker is then just inches away from hooking the ball
away from Stech. Cole is clattered into by Christos Melissis. The No9 is
going to have a physical contest this evening.
7min - Dangerous cross from left-back Nikos Spyropoulos but no Panathinaikos
player can get on the end of it. A quick counter from the Hammers sees Cole
just fail to get to a ball that runs into the grateful arms of Orestis
Karnezis in the Greek goal.
6min - The pitch seems to be holding up well despite the constant rain. The
referee will have to keep a close eye on it, though.
5min - Tomkins clears well from Gabriel's cross. The youngster is playing at
right-back, the position he finished in last week's game against VfL
Borussia Monchengladbach.
4min - Offside Cole. The advancing Parker had fed Noble, but the resulting
pass through to the England striker was just too late.
3min - It looks like Mark Noble is playing in an advanced midfield role, in
support of Carlton Cole, who already has two goals from two games this
summer.
2min - Good save Marek Stech. It was a deep cross from Cleyton that nearly
just crept under the crossbar. Manuel da Costa then rose highest to clear
the resulting corner.
1min - We are under way with the Greek champions taking the kick-off. Bear
with me here as the view is not the best. Early foul from Julien Faubert
gives the Greek side a chance to play the ball into the penalty area.
KICK-OFF
6.25pm: Captain Scott Parker leads the teams out to the sounds of Eye of the
Tiger. We have already had Bubbles played here by our hosts.
Panathinaikos: Karnezis, Sapriggi, Rukavina, Mglissis, Leto, Bjarsmyr,
Gabriel, Marinos, Simao, Sypropoulos, Cleyton
Subs: Galinovic, Ninis, Mayrias, Stambolziev, Vyntra, Seitaridis,
Petropoulos, Katsouranis,Machlelis
West Ham United: Stech, Tomkins, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Parker,
Hitzlsperger, Noble, Faubert, Cole, Boa Morte
Subs: Kurucz, Spence, Daprela, Fry, Montano, Edgar, Stanislas, Sears,
Diamanti, McCarthy
Welcome to tonight's second friendly of the club's pre-season training camp
in Germany. We are actually just across the border in Kitzbuhel, Austria and
the bad weather has followed us to this picturesque stadium. The rain is
bucketing down and there has been some doubt about this game going ahead. A
strong starting lineup has been named with Julien Faubert being tried in an
advanced wide right position and Scott Parker making his first appearance
this summer.
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