West Ham On Tour In The USA

[Peter Parka]

And already it's kicked off!:24:

More than 100 West Ham and Columbus Crew fans were involved in a violent clash during the first game of the Premier League side’s North American tour yesterday (Sunday).

Trouble flared when a small group of West Ham fans managed to gain access to the north east corner of the Crew Stadium that houses the home-side’s hardcore supporters.

A bad tempered exchange of chants between the two sets of supporters gave way to open fighting during the half-time interval.

Police officers and stadium security staff eventually broke up the warring fans, and one supporter was arrested outside of the ground for disorderly conduct. Police have so far been unable to confirm whether anybody was arrested inside Crew Stadium.


West Ham won the game 3-1 thanks to goals from Dean Ashton, Kyle Reid and an own goal from Columbus Crew’s Brad Evans. Manager Alan Curbishley described the match as a “terrific game” and a “much-needed workout”.

The Hammers now travel to Toronto to take part in Thursday’s MLS All-Stars game, where they will face a side that could potentially feature the LA Galaxy’s David Beckham.


Expect Beckham to get a load of stick!

 

[skyblue]

so did sir david score?

 

[Peter Parka]

Nah , quite an entertaining match

MLS All-Stars 3-2 West Ham United

West Ham United were edged out in a five-goal thriller against the MLS All-Stars that saw Dean Ashton score twice only for MVP Cuauhtemoc Blanco to steal the show.

At a packed BMO Field in Toronto on Thursday night, Ashton had fired the opener midway through the first half but a sublime back-heel from Blanco set up Christian Gomez almost immediately. The veteran Mexican playmaker then struck a sublime goal just before half-time when he tricked his way into the penalty area. Blanco's work was done and although Ashton levelled matters in the 67th minute with a deflected long-range shot, Dwayne De Rosario won it with a penalty soon afterwards.

The match was a welcome step up for Alan Curbishley's men after the 4-2 and 3-1 wins against Hampton and Richmond Borough and Columbus Crew respectively in the first two matches of pre-season. As well as Ashton's strikes, the positives were plenty. Carlton Cole impressed on his first start of the summer while Matthew Etherington and Luis Boa Morte got a welcome 45 minutes apiece on the left flank. The night will also be remembered by Joe Widdowson, with the 19-year-old defender marking David Beckham.

The home crowd was largely made up of Toronto FC supporters, who with their constant chants and incessant singing made for an atmosphere that was reminiscent of cup games in England. Although the MLS All-Stars are deep into their season, United kept going until the end - not least the strong-running Scott Parker. The team will travel back to England on Friday night, after a community session at the BMO Field, and then have some welcome rest before a busy schedule resumes next week. First up is a trip to Peterborough United on Tuesday before heading to Cambridge United the following evening.

whufc.com

Good match, not too worried about losing it, this is the team who beat Celtic and Chelsea. Some very encoraging performances, especially Deano getting a brace. the only real negative thing from a West Ham point of view was Lucas Neill, the guy was so shit and gave away that needless penalty for the all stars to snatch victory. I really hope he isn't going to carry on from where he left off last season. He might be a great captain but we cant afford for him to be playing like that week in week out!

 

[skyblue]

with the standard of opposition out there it just about prepars the hammers for macclesfield in the carling cup

 

[Peter Parka]

No doubt we'll make hard work of it, we always seem to beat the good teams and then make hard work of the crap teams in the cups!

 

[skyblue]

dont you just hate getting teams from the lower leagues in the cups?......i mean.....premiership playing championship know they have to play well to win.....the standards there........its just when the macclesfields treat a big boy as they're cup final that makes me nervous

 

[Peter Parka]

It's true, there's no pressure on the crap team because no one expects them to do anything and they have nothing to lose. The good team, if they lose, it's bad and if they win convincingly, it's only what the're expected to do. These games are also a worry because the crap team is so up for it that there is a significantly greater risk of them making wild tackles and injuring one of our key players, especially when they cant live with the pace and cant time their tackles correctly.

 

[ConTRo13R]

im forever blowing bubbles! forever blowing bubbles...

dirty bubble blower!! we got arry!!!

 

[skyblue]

im forever blowing bubbles! forever blowing bubbles...

dirty bubble blower!! we got arry!!!

hahaha pompey

 

[Peter Parka]

I quite like Pompey, Harry as manager and their boys are as hard as nails.:nod: