[Scoreboard at Udinese]
West Ham come from behind to win at Udinese
Udinese 1-3 West Ham United
Mid-season match, Dacia Arena, Saturday 10 December 2022
A spectacular Manuel Lanzini strike and goals from Saïd Benrahma and Michail Antonio helped West Ham United come from behind to defeat Udinese in Italy on Saturday. The Irons made it two wins and seven goals from two mid-season warm-up matches ahead of the 2022/23 season restart with an eye-catching performance on a cold December afternoon at the Dacia Arena. David Moyes was without eight senior players for a variety of reasons, but his squad were still good value for their victory, which came four days after the Londoners had returned to action with a 4-2 success at EFL League One side Cambridge United. The Hammers dominated for long stretches of the first half, but it took until added-time for the English side to earn their reward in the shape of Benrahma’s second goal in two mid-season warm-up matches.
Earlier, Udinese had taken advantage of slow start from the visitors to take a 13th-minute lead through their captain and former Watford player Roberto Pereyra. Another ex-Hornet Isaac Success dribbled into the penalty area on the left and crossed square for Beto. Emerson looks to have intercepted, but his clearance hits the Udinese No9 and dropped perfectly for the onrushing Pereyra, who fired unerringly past Łukasz Fabiański with a first-time right foot shot. A couple of minutes later, the former Poland goalkeeper had to be alert to push Lazar Samardžić’s well-struck 25-yarder away as Udinese threatened to add a quickfire second.
From then on, though, the odd counter-attack from Andrea Sottil’s team aside, it was all West Ham, but a combination of inaccurate finishing, dogged defending and good goalkeeping initially prevented the Londoners from levelling. With Jarrod Bowen and Benrahma providing constant menace down their respective wings, ably supported by Vladimir Coufal and Emerson, the Irons created chance after chance as the first half wore on.
Tomáš Souček, Craig Dawson and Gianluca Scamacca all saw headers narrowly clear the crossbar, while Scamacca saw a shot well blocked by Slovenia centre-back Jaka Bijol and Silvestri did well to turn aside a towering Dawson header at full stretch before the Italian forward smashed the rebound into the side netting. It seemed West Ham had an opportunity to score every time they went forward as Benrahma fired wide, Scamacca was denied a penalty after appearing to be fouled by Bijol, then Emerson dragged a low shot across the face of goal. Just when it seemed as if Moyes’ men would go in behind at the break, Scamacca’s quick-thinking from a free-kick released Bowen. His dipping, inswinging cross from the right caught out Silvestri, who could only push the ball as far as Benrahma, who converted from six yards.
The second half was a more even affair, with both teams creating plenty of openings to add to the scoring. Fabiański was called into twice soon after the break, turning Slovenian Sandi Lovrić’s free-kick onto the crossbar with his fingertips, then diving to his left to hold on securely to Success’s long-ranger. Udinese’s Portuguese top scorer Beto then curled wide and saw a shot blocked by Coufal, before Dawson did well to get in the way of Lovric’s effort.
With both managers making a succession of substitutions, you might have expected the flow of chances to dry up, but far from it. Instead, the torrent continued! German Tolgay Arslan sent a volley bouncing over the bar, then West Ham went close again as Ogbonna’s header somehow eluded Souček and Scamacca on its way past the post. Then, with 20 minutes remaining, half-time replacement Lanzini fired the Irons into the lead for the first time, sending a rasping strike into the net from 25 yards after Bowen and Scamacca had seen their initial shots repelled. Udinese responded again, and it took a miraculous Dawson block to stop Arslan from finding the bottom corner, and a more routine save from Fabiański to keep out Ilija Nestorovski’s tame effort.
Then, with a minute of the 90 remaining, the game was settled as the impressive Bowen set off on yet another run deep into Udinese territory before curling against the base of the post. The England international kept his head to collect the loose ball as it rolled behind substitute goalkeeper Daniele Padelli and cross low for Antonio to convert from close-range.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna ©, Emerson (Johnson 70), Downes (Lanzini 46), Souček, Fornals, Benrahma (Antonio 46), Scamacca (Coventry 90)
Subs not used: Randolph (GK), Hegyi (GK), Scarles, Forbes, Laing, Ekwah, F.Potts, Swyer
Goals: Benrahma 45+1, Lanzini 70, Antonio 89
Udinese: Silvestri (Padelli 46), Ehizibue, Bijol (Pafundi 70), Perez, Pereyra © (Arslan 46), Ebosele, Walace (Nestorovski 61), Lovric (Centis 77), Samardzic (Buta 46), Beto (Guessano 70), Success (Jajalo 61) Subs not used: Piana (GK), Cocetta, Abdalla, Russo
Goal: Pereyra 13
Referee: Daniele Chiffi
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Ogbonna: It was nice to go back to Italy and win!
It may have been short and sweet, but Angelo Ogbonna thoroughly enjoyed returning home to Italy for West Ham United’s 3-1 victory over Udinese on Saturday.
The Hammers spent just 24 hours in the country where Ogbonna was born, raised and made his name, first as captain of Torino – where he briefly played alongside Udinese goalkeeper Daniele Padelli – then by winning back-to-back Serie A titles and reaching a UEFA Champions League final with Juventus.
And, aside from the cold, rain and a worrying early moment that saw the 13-cap international treated for a bang on the shoulder from Udinese centre-forward Beto, it was a pleasurable trip for West Ham’s second longest-serving player.
Not only did the centre-back enjoy the demands of dealing with the tall, strong Beto and his quick, direct strike partner Isaac Success, but he took joy from seeing Said Benrahma, Manuel Lanzini – with a 25-yard thunderbolt – and Michail Antonio find the net as the Londoners recovered from conceding to Roberto Pereyra’s early goal to secure a deserved win.
If we want to compare Udinese, it’s a team which is very similar to a Premier League team and a good test for us
Angelo Ogbonna
“It was nice to win the game and nice to be back in Italy for me personally,” he smiled. “It’s always a joy to come back here, even for a few hours. It’s very good, but now it’s time to get back to my home!
“It was a really good test for us, so to get three goals was very important. We’re still doing a lot of jobs to get back, but it’s a nice process for us.
“There was a lot of running for us, even as centre-backs! If we want to compare Udinese, it’s a team which is very similar to a Premier League team and a good test for us.
“I really enjoyed the game. It was really important for Mick to get a goal, and for Jarrod [Bowen] as well to play like he did. Everyone played really well.
“We still have two weeks to go [until the Premier League returns], so it’s really important for us to get fully prepared. Of course, we missed a lot of the squad today, but these games are really important for us.”
The experienced 33-year-old is one of only two senior centre-backs available to manager David Moyes at present, with Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer away with Morocco and Germany respectively at the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, Kurt Zouma recovering from knee surgery and Aaron Cresswell absent with a tight hamstring.
With those circumstances in mind, Ogbonna has started both warm-up fixtures at Cambridge United and Udinese, looks fit and strong ahead of the Premier League restart, and is ready to play if called upon at Arsenal on Boxing Day.
“We are focused on getting fit and on trying our best,” he concluded. “We know our situation in the table, but there is no pressure because we know what’s coming.”
West Ham will welcome their five World Cup players back before Christmas, and will hope to have Maxwel Cornet and Cresswell available for the third and final warm-up fixture at Fulham on Saturday 17 December.
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McKinlay: Udinese was a good performance and a good win
Billy McKinlay hailed a job well done as West Ham United secured a deserved 3-1 win at Udinese in the second of three mid-season warm-up fixtures. The Hammers were without eight senior players at the Dacia Arena, with five at the FIFA World Cup finals and three absent through injury, but still produced an eye-catching performance that produced some fine attacking football, three goals, some dogged defending, secure goalkeeping and, ultimately, a welcome victory. The Irons carried a threat throughout, with Jarrod Bowen looking sharp and having a hand in two goals, Said Benrahma scoring for the second time in four days, Manuel Lanzini netting a 25-yard rocket and Michail Antonio converting late on to complete a worthwhile, whirlwind 24 hours in cold, wet north-eastern Italy. With two weeks of training and one final preparation match at Fulham – the club where McKinlay started his coaching career 15 years ago – next Saturday afternoon, the assistant coach believes David Moyes’ squad are in good shape ahead of the Premier League restart at Arsenal on Boxing Day.
It was a pleasing afternoon, I think.
There was plenty of goalmouth action at both ends and we created a number of chances and played some good football going forward. It was encouraging to get a good performance and a good win. It’s just good to get back into it. It was a good level of game and we showed some good stuff. The players are working hard and we’ve got another game next week to get us ready for the Arsenal game so we’re good to go.
We’re looking to see some good performances and get back in the swing of things.
It won’t be too long before the Premier League starts again, so we need to see a little bit of organisation and obviously some good performances and good structure to the team. It was a good level of game against Udinese, which is what we needed. We’re straight back into it and it was a happy afternoon.
Udinese are a good side and they caused us one or two problems in the early part of the game and scored a goal.
Even up to then, we were creating enough chances and had enough good play in and around their box to give us some encouragement. Obviously, we got the goal on the stroke of half-time, which was pleasing, then again in the second half we created a lot of chances and got two good goals.
I think scoring goals is a little bit about confidence.
We saw some things today where we were creating chances but maybe not taking advantage of that, and that’s something we feel we have to do better at. We’ve worked really hard this week on our attacking play, so we’ve just got to keep going. We know we’ve got plenty of attacking players who we know are capable of scoring goals, so we’ve just got to keep believing and keep getting in the right positions and right areas and you could see that part of our play today was good.
Jarrod was a major threat, especially off the back of the disappointment of not going to the World Cup with England.
We know how important Jarrod is to us and I thought he was particularly dangerous today. He had a lot of really good situations and created a couple of goals for us. We know he’ll come good in terms of goals in the second half of the season, so we’re pleased for him.
We’ve got Fulham at Craven Cottage next and it’s a nice game for me going back there, where I’ve got fond memories of a terrific club.
Hopefully it won’t be so good for them next Saturday as we’ll get a good result, but it’ll be nice to go back!
It is a unique situation at the moment, not just for us but for every club.
None of us know quite how it’s going to work out. We know the type of players we’ve got and we’re pretty confident they’re going to come back and get into the swing of things with some positivity in terms of how their tournaments went. We’re progressing nicely over the ten days since we’ve been back, so it’s really important we continue that and we’re ready to go on Boxing Day.
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Aguerd, Areola progress to the World Cup semis but heartbreak for Rice
Nayef Aguerd and Alphonse Areola’s dreams of lifting the FIFA World Cup are still alive after Saturday’s quarter-final ties, but there was heartbreak for Declan Rice.The Hammers captain played the 90 minutes as England came up just short against Areola’s France on a tense, tight night in Qatar. A fine long range strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni gave Les Bleus a first half lead, but the Three Lions came roaring back after the interval and levelled through Harry Kane’s 54th minute penalty. England pushed for a second, but were undone by Olivier Giroud’s header 12 minutes from the end, and a later miss from the spot by Kane. France’s 2-1 win means Areola remains on course for a second World Cup winners’ medal, although his nation will face a stern test against Aguerd’s Morocco in Wednesday’s semi-final.
The West Ham centre-back missed out on Saturday afternoon’s 1-0 victory over Portugal as he recovers from an injury picked up in their win over Spain in the previous round. A goal from Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri proved enough to see off the much-fancied Portuguese and continue Morocco’s fairytale run. And for both Aguerd and Areola, the chance of glory very much lives on.
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Konchesky: We’re excited for the derby
Paul Konchesky says that this weekend’s Barclays Women’s Super League match has added importance. The Hammers make the short trip east to take on Tottenham Hotspur at The Breyer Group Stadium, and as somebody who has been involved in this fixture as a player, Konchesky knows it’s importance. Indeed, it’s not just important because of the fact that it’s a London derby – this fixture allows for the east Londoners to pull further ground on their neighbours, whilst also closing the gap on those above. And with the side looking to bounce back from their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Liverpool last weekend, the boss believes that this is the perfect fixture for them to head into and bounce back in their final league game of the calendar year
We’re excited for the derby
A London derby is always a good match to come back into after a loss because it means that little bit more, particularly against Tottenham. The players have responded really well out on the training pitch this week, and all of them know the importance of finishing well in the league before we pause over Christmas.
The players understand the importance of this fixture
Anybody connected with West Ham knows that it’s a big game – you always want to get one over on your rivals. We’ve got experienced players who have played in this fixture before, so they will pass on what it means to some of the younger ones. It gives the game that little extra spark, and we want the bragging rights come the end of the season, so our aim to go out and get the job done on Sunday.
It’s a really good opportunity to keep the pressure on the teams around us
We were disappointed that we couldn’t do it last week, particularly with Tottenham slipping up. It would have meant that we could have put a little bit of a gap between them and us, but it wasn’t to be. As I said in the post-match last weekend, we know that we didn’t start well enough in the game against Liverpool, which was uncharacteristic of us this season. It’s important that we start well, particularly away from home to give us the best possible chance of coming away with all three points.
With two games to go before the break, we need to give it everything
We have aspirations of making sure that we finish as high as possible in the table, so we need to be picking up points against those around. Tottenham have a good side, and we need to make sure that we compete for every ball and put a lot of pressure on their goal when we can.
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Devastating disappointment for World Cup Hammer
By Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Saturday, 10th December 2022
West Ham United’s Nayef Aguerd has been ruled out of Morocco’s World Cup quarter final tie against Portugal. The central defender was hoping to be involved in what would’ve been the biggest game of his career so far, despite having limped off during the last 16 win against Spain. However the thigh injury sustained in the second half of their memorable penalty shootout victory has cost him a place in this afternoon’s clash against the Portuguese, despite the 26-year-old having undergone intensive treatment in a bid to get him fit. Aguerd had only just returned to full fitness ahead of the World Cup Finals having sat out much of his time at West Ham since signing from Rennes in the summer. A pre-season injury sustained against Rangers saw him sidelined for more than three months, prior to this latest injury. Morocco – bidding to make the last four of the World Cup for the first time in their history – will line-up as follows:
Bounou; Hakimi, El Yamiq, Saiss, Attiyat Allah; Ounahi, Amrabat, Amallah; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.
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