A youthful West Ham United warmed up for next Tuesday's reserve derby against Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-1 friendly draw against Fulham in west London.
Alex Dyer's second string have not played since 13 January and made the most of their behind-closed-doors run-out at Motspur Park. The first half finished goalless before the Hammers had a great chance to go in front after the break - only for Junior Stanislas to miss from the penalty spot. The breakthrough came midway through the second period when substitute Balint Bajner scored, only for Fulham to snatch a late equaliser
The 20-year-old goalkeeper Peter Kurucz made his first appearance since his move from Ujpest in Hungary and had a solid game. The Under-21 international was joined by the likes of promising defenders Bondz 'Gala, Ryan O'Neill and Matthew Fry. The game also offered the chance for the players to work on their fitness after last week's game with West Bromwich Albion was postponed, with Zavon Hines and Josh Payne no doubt benefiting after recent injuries. Payne joined O'Neill afterwards in sharing his views with WHUTV.
O'Neill summed up the positives. "The main thing was to get the 90 minutes under our belt," he said. "Lots of games have been called off because of the weather so it was just good to get 90 minutes under our belt. I thought we played good football as sometimes when you don't have games the rhythm can go but I think we defended well and created a fair few chances. Overall it was a good exercise."
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WITH JOSH PAYNE AND RYAN O'NEILL