Thurrock v West Ham United XI
Ship Lane, Grays
Kick-off: 8pm
Final score- 2-3
90min - It was barely the last action of the game. A thrilling end to a good work-out for Alex Dyer's side.
89min - GOAL! - Nouble scores....It was a superb strike but was all about Montano's trickery on the left flank. He danced past two defenders, cut inside and curled the pass of the game into Nouble's path. The No10 had evaded his marker and showed tremendous composure to fire into the corner. Terrific play all round.
88min - Bezzichieri has a go from fully 25 yards. Woolley is equal to it. At the other end, Mehmet's fingertips just about deny Knight a second and probable winning goal.
86min - GOAL! - Knight strikes a left-footed shot past Mehmet, although it needed the help of the post to beat the keeper.
84min - Arguably the best move of the match finishes with Nouble's goalbound shot deflected behind by Swaine. Bezzichieri had started it before the play switched via Wearen to Fry. The full-back rounded his marker before slipping the ball back for the No10 to go for goal.
83min - Wearen is fouled. Quashie takes a moment to organise the troops before getting us back under way. Davenport is then on hand to avert the danger with a Thurrock attack. Fry is down. The lively No3 feels the force of a late challenge.
82min - More good handling from Mehmet after Lima's snap-shot. Can the Hammers hold on?
79min - GOAL! - Eoin Wearen rises highest to head in from Abdulla's perfectly placed corner. The yellow-booted Irish youth international has not looked out of place despite being only 16.
78min - Nearly an own goal. Montano chips forward for Nouble whose presence forces the error from the home defender. Nouble then gets on the end of the Abdulla corner but the ball loops away.
76min - Knight races away and is clear off the Hammers defence. Mehmet comes off his line, stands up well and then gets down to save superbly.
75min - A shout for a penalty there. Nouble did well before chipping into the area for Montano. The visiting fans claimed handball but the referee adjudged it was a clean challenge.
74min - Paul Lima has a go for Thurrock. It is a good effort but he never troubled Mehmet in truth.
73min - Chance for Thurrock. Fry did well to head away a cross into the six-yard box but the ball came back to the home side. However, they could not keep it on target.
72min - We have switched to a more conventional 4-4-2 with Abdulla and Nouble in attack. The latter is doing well despite a physical introduction to life at West Ham.
71min - Flynn has a go from long range but his effort is low and wide.
70min - Holmar Eyjolfsson does well to clear the danger after Mehmet was unable to collect.
67min - Another double change for Thurrock. Anderson and Paine are off to be replaced by No17 and No18. Will endeavour to bring you their names as soon as possible.
65min - The floodlights are in full flow here as darkness descends on the stadium. There are a few clouds but the rain has stayed away since that pre-game downpour.
63min - A double substitution for Thurrock. Bryant and Orilonishe are going off, to be replaced by 14 David Knight and No12.
61min - Good tracking back by Montano averts the danger of a low cross that fizzed across the area. Thurrock are on top at the moment.
59min - It is a good game. Lalite gets a shot away but it is deflected wide for a corner.
58min - Nouble releases Wearen who in turn finds Abdulla. His shot is blocked. Corner to West Ham, which is played to Quashie on the edge of the box. He shoots low but Woolley saves.
57min - Great reflex save from Mehmet. Corner to Thurrock but it should have been 2-1 to the hosts. Davenport then clears the danger.
55min - Fantastic pass from Montano. Nouble is on to it but the ball will not sit up right for him and the Thurrock defenders get it away. After a quick counter, Montano is at the other end sorting out the danger.
54min - Well played Fry. Matt Bodkin was surging up the wing until a well-timed tackle stopped him in his tracks.
52min - Quashie has been a big influence for his young team-mates tonight. The captain has been talking constantly and shown a good attitude.
51min - Apologies. Deniz Mehmet is also on for Loveday in goal. The Turkish U17 international gets his first touch of the ball.
50min - Swaine is waved back on as Davenport tries to play in Nouble. The offside flag halts the No10's progress.
49min - We have had a stoppage here with treatment for Swaine. The No4 has been in the wars, having broken his nose in a game on Monday night.
47min - First chance of the half for Thurrock. Leon Lalite fires over.
46min - We have a couple of changes. Zola is off to be replaced by Simone Bezzichieri while Eoin Wearen - the Irish youth international midfielder - is on for Brookes. Nick Barrett has gone to right-back.
HALF-TIME
45min - The referee allows no time for stoppages as he blows for half-time.
44min - Nice run by Fry but he is crowded out.
43min - We are back under way again. Thurrock have a go for goal through Flynn. Loveday saves well.
42min - We have a hold up in play while Anderson gets treatment. Dyer is using the time to have a word with his players.
40min - Another foul on Barrett. The midfielder has been in the wars tonight. Huke seems OK. He is sat on the bench and no doubt reflecting on a good goal.
39min - Abdulla is straight into action. He races away before teeing up Nouble. The No10 makes room and then has a go for goal. The shot is blocked though.
38min - An early change. Huke is going off to be replaced by Ahmed Abdulla. It looks like Huke has a head injury.
37min - Quashie shoots high and wide but the referee had already blown for a foul.
36min - In case you are interested, Dyer has changed his front three around. Nouble has gone to the left, Huke is through the middle and Montano to the right.
36min - Anderson has a go from distance. Loveday was never worried.
35min - At the other end, Fry recovers well to clear the Thurrock danger.
34min - Zola sets Nouble away down the left. The No10 is lightening quick and covers 60 yards in no time. He then gets to the byline and pulls the ball back expertly for Barrett. The No7 connected first time but Woolley was able to clear.
33min - Highlights of today's game will appear on WHUTV over the weekend, by the way.
32min - West Ham have done well after the set-back of going a goal down. The new-look forward line is finding good space and looking hungry.
29min - GOAL! - Seb Huke shows good composure to slot the ball under Woolley from about 15 yards. It was a nice finish and came after Montano's run and shot was parried by Woolley into the No9's path.
29min - Huke is clattered by Rob Swaine. The older Thurrock players are using all their experience.
27min - Electric pace by Nouble sees him fly down the left. He leaves three defenders in his wake, dances into the penalty area before bringing the ball on to his left. He shoots but it is low and wide.
26min - A bit of a mix-up between Fry and Montano leads to a Thurrock corner. Loveday is again fouled and West Ham clear their lines.
24min - Free-kick to Thurrock in a dangerous central position. Flynn is over it. He fires in a rasping left-foot drive that Loveday tips over the bar. Great effort.
23min - Great play by Nouble. He glided past two defenders and strode into the area. With everyone expecting a shot, he slid in Montano who was poised to go for goal when a Thurrock defender stuck his leg out for a corner. Fry got on the end of the Barrett flag-kick but it came to nothing.
22min - Loveday is still receiving treatment. He took a whack in the face but should be OK to continue.
21min - Loveday is flattened after a deep ball into the box. Free-kick to West Ham.
20min - Nearly a second for Thurrock. Another cross from the left just evades David Bryant who was at full-stretch.
19min - Huke tries to breakaway from a swift counter but his adjudged to have strayed offside.
18min - GOAL! - Phil Anderson converts from close-range after Lee Flynn had caused all sorts of problems. It came from a burst down the left and low cross. Loveday could not do anything about it.
16min - Barrett is upended in midfield. A free-kick forward for the Hammers finishes with Fry earning a corner. Barrett comes across to take it - but the ball is overhit and runs out for a goal-kick.
15min - Decent delivery from Barrett but the ball is cleared. It eventually falls to Nouble who tricks his way past Phil Anderson before his shot is blocked by Paine. A quick counter sees Orilonishe burst through on goal. Only a last-ditch tackle from Zola prevents a clear shooting opportunity. The referee deemed that a foul. From the free-kick, the West Ham wall does its job.
14min - Huke forces the first corner of the game.
13min - Fola Orilonishe does even better for Thurrock at the other end. Finding space 20 yards from goal, he unleashed a right-foot drive that had Loveday scrambling across. It just fizzed wide of the post.
12min - Well done Nouble. He picked the ball up inside his own half and ran at the left-back. As he approached the area, he slid the ball out to Brookes who then made space before crossing. The ball fell to Nouble again and he worked an opening before firing wide to the keeper's right. Bright play.
11min - Quashie tries to set Huke free on the left but the pass is overhit. Unlucky though as the German U20 team-mate of Savio had made a good run.
10min - Nouble did well there. The No10 chased down a loose back-pass and gave Woolley a scare. The keeper just about got the ball away though.
9min - Davenport lofts one forward for Huke but it runs through to Joe Woolley in the Thurrock goal.
8min - Nice control on the chest from Huke there. He then laid it off nicely for Montano but the ball just ran out of play.
7min - The game is a little scrappy at the moment. West Ham are building from the back through Brookes and Fry whenever they can.
6min - Wayward pass from Matt Paine for the hosts just as they looked like building their first attack.
5min - Nouble is dropping deep to help the midfield. He has two defenders on him when he receives the ball at the moment.
4min - Neat interchange between Quashie, Zola and Huke there. West Ham have started by zipping the ball around well.
3min - Cristian Montano looks to have a free role around Huke and Nouble. Zola is to the left of the midfield three with Barrett to the right. Quashie is in a holding role between them.
2min - A rampaging run by Matty Fry from left-back only finishes with a Thurrock defender forcing a goal-kick.
1min - Sebastian Huke and Frank Nouble get us under way. The pair exchange a handshake before the off. Barely 18 seconds later Calum Davenport is flattened by a late challenge from David Bryant. That was a fierce one from the Thurrock No9.
KICK-OFF
8pm - Think we are going to be even later. Nigel Quashie is only just leading out the team now. The midfielder has the captain's armband having worn it in the 1-1 draw at Cambridge United a week ago.
7.55pm - There is a healthy crowd here now. Just to remind, the kick-off has been delayed until 8pm because of traffic problems in the area.
7.53pm - West Ham will be wearing the 2009/10 away strip this evening. The players are back in the dressing room, receiving a team talk from Alex Dyer while the Thurrock team continue on their warm-up drills.
7.51pm - This is the last pre-season fixture before the first team fly to China for the Barclays Asia Trophy. A total of 23 players from those who featured in the Austrian training camp over the past two weeks are set to travel to Beijing. whufc.com will have full coverage of the China trip, including Wednesday's opening match against Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, the Under-18s have a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow.
7.50pm - We've just had Purple Rain by Prince played by the PA. Quite fitting considering the clouds amassed to the right of the ground and the earlier shower. So far though the sun is holding its own and we have a perfect setting for an evening's football.
7.33pm - As well as the absent Okus, Danny Kearns is still working his way back to fitness after a muscle injury. He is back in training though.
7.32pm - Because of the traffic problems, we are going to get under way at 8pm. Kick-off is delayed by 15 minutes.
7.30pm - Bright sunshine now over this part of south Essex. with the stadium in the shadow of the QEII Bridge and close to the Lakeside shopping centre. The crowd is building as well with many having had to cope with the Friday night traffic on the M25 and A13. Goalkeeping coach Jerome John is putting Loveday through his paces with the rest of the Hammers contingent making their way on to the pitch for the warm-up.
7.22pm - We have just been handed the Thurrock team-sheet. It reads: Joe Woolley, Lee Flynn, Phil Anderson, Rob Swaine, Kenny Clark, Matt Paine, Matt Bodkin, Leon Lalite, David Bryant, Paul Lima and Fola Orilonishe.
7.20pm - We may see a 4-3-3 formation from the visitors with Cristian Montano, Nouble and Huke in the attack with Zola, Quashie and Nick Barrett in midfield. Iceland Under-21 defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson will partner Calum Davenport in central defence with Brookes and Matt Fry at full-back. Peter Loveday will start in goal although we may well see Deniz Mehmet in the second half.
7.16pm - Here comes the rain. Talk about extreme weather - the rain is coming down hard and fast. It is going to make for a zippy playing surface.
7.10pm - The players have just come out for a look at the pitch, which looks in great condition from here. Frank Nouble is deep in conversation with new team-mates Ahmed Abdulla and Tony Brookes. The striker towers over both of them and will be hoping to put in a good performance on his West Ham debut.
7pm - Welcome to the Ship Lane home of Thurrock FC for the latest friendly encounter for Alex Dyer's reserves. The second string have been boosted again by the presence of Calum Davenport and captain Nigel Quashie. Up front there is a debut for new recruit Frank Nouble alongside German triallist Sebastian Huke. The starting XI also features Andrea Zola - the manager's son - who has been training at the club. Conor Okus is missing with a slight hip problem while Robert Hall is away on England Under-17 duty.
Thurrock: Joe Woolley, Lee Flynn, Phil Anderson, Rob Swaine, Kenny Clark, Matt Paine, Matt Bodkin, Leon Lalite, David Bryant, Paul Lima, Fola Orilonishe
Subs: to follow
West Ham United: Peter Loveday, Tony Brookes, Calum Davenport, Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson, Matthew Fry, Cristian Montano, Nick Barrett, Nigel Quashie, Andrea Zola, Sebastian Huke, Frank Nouble
Subs: Deniz Mehmet, Callum McNaughton, Simone Bezzicheri, Eoin Wearen, Ahmed Abdulla