Gen adidas impress against West Ham
Somma strikes twice in MLS standouts' best performance of tour
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Davide Somma (San Jose Earthquakes) bracketed an early West Ham strike with a pair of first-half goals of his own. The GA squad controlled possession for most of the game and proved to be the more aggressive attacking side, but the tough task of playing three games in four days showed, as fatigue set in late in the second half and West Ham scored the tying and winning goals in the final quarter of the match.
Generation adidas controlled the game from the opening whistle. Yura Movsisyan (Real Salt Lake) played in his first match of the tour after resolving visa issues and was a welcome addition to a team lacking offensive output. Tony Beltran (RSL) and Bruno Guarda (FC Dallas) were able to establish early possession and worked well with Somma and Movsisyan in setting the tone for the first half of the match.
In the 24th minute Somma took a give-and-go with midfielder Ciaran O'Brien (Colorado Rapids) and blasted a hard right-footed shot into the top left corner of the goal to give the Generation adidas team their first lead of the tour.
West Ham equalized six minutes later when U.S. international defender Jonathan Spector headed a Matty Etherington corner past GA goalkeeper Josh Lambo.
The GA squad continued its aggressive offensive play, utilizing Movsisyan's fresh legs to press the West Ham defense. His efforts were realized in the 35th minute when a shot on goal was deflected by West Ham 'keeper Marek Stech outside the penalty area. Somma struck the ball with a full volley from outside the box past the 'keeper to give the MLS side a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
The Generation adidas team started the second half the same way they played the first, utilizing crisp passing and an attacking mindset to keep West Ham on their heels. Stech kept the Hammers in the game with three early saves -- two on Movsisyan and one on Eric Avila (FC Dallas).
Yet the fatigue of playing three games in four days eventually caught up to the GA squad. The team was clearly out of gas for latter part of the second half. In the 69th minute, a failed clearance by Abdus Ibrahim (Toronto FC) resulted in a Fred Sears goal, then West Ham took the lead for good in the 76th minute when defender Bakary Soumare (Chicago Fire) was unable to clear the ball and took down Sears in the penalty area. Sears stepped to the spot and finished the opportunity, giving West Ham a 3-2 lead.
In the 83rd minute West Ham handled the ball in the penalty area but no penalty was awarded by referee Dermot Gallagher.
Overall the trip was a great learning experience on the field and off for the Generation adidas players. They performed at a high level and showed technical skill against three quality opponents. On Friday the team will be attending a Chelsea FC training session and meet and greet some of the Chelsea players.
West Ham United reserves vs. MLS Select (Generation adidas)
December 11, 2008 -- Hornchurch Stadium, East London, England
Scoring summary:
GA -- Davide Somma (Ciaran O'Brien) 24
WHU -- Jonathan Spector (Matty Etherington) 30
GA -- Davide Somma (unassisted) 35
WHU -- Fred Sears (unassisted) 69
WHU -- Fred Sears (penalty) 76
West Ham United: Marek Stech, Ashley Miller, Walter Lopez, Stephen Stranberg (46: Tom Harvey), Jonathan Spector (67: George Grasser), Holmar Eyjolfsson, Kieron Dyer (54: Tony Stokes), Jack Collison (64: Conner Okus), Diego Tristan, Fred Sears, Matty Etherington (64: Yero)
Generation adidas: Josh Lambo, Tim Ward, Bakary Soumare, Rob Valentino, Amaechi Igwe, Alex Nimo (53: Eric Avila), Ciaran O'Brien (73: Roger Espinoza), Tony Beltran, Bruno Guarda (65: Anthony Wallace), Yura Movsisyan, Davide Somma (46: Abdus Ibrahim)
Referee: Dermot Gallagher
