Avram Grant was delighted to see his West Ham United record a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Panathinaikos in the third pre-season friendly win of the summer in as many matches.
Thomas Hitzlsperger's fierce free-kick as the interval approached in Kitzbuhel - just across the Austrian border from the club's Bavarian base - settled a Friday night contest played in driving rain. The difficult conditions made it hard for both teams to find their feet but the manager was happy with his men's application.
"Panathinaikos are very good and we coped well with their pressure. They are preparing for the Champions League and I saw them take the title last season after many years without success in Greece. They are a good team with quality. For us it was a good game and the traditional English weather helped us."
Grant said there was plenty of positives but one notable plus point was the execution of the set-piece that produced the goal. James Tomkins' had driven forward from right-back to win a free-kick on the edge of the area. Luis Boa Morte rolled the ball a short way to Hitzlsperger and Der Hammer did the rest.
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"I was pleased with Thomas's goal," the manager added. "We only started to work on set-oieces a few days ago and that was just briefly. I liked that we did that. We also created a few chances before and after. We defended well and for a training game it was good."
While Hitzlsperger shone in a first-half midfield also compromising the in-form Mark Noble and Scott Parker, who was making his first appearance of the summer, there were also the encouraging signs of a young side featuring the likes of Matt Fry and Cristian Montano closing out the game with help from a lively Kieron Dyer.
"They coped well with the pressure. Part of our vision and also the tradition of the club is young players. We want the talented youngsters to be a big part of our squad and also the training camp was for them. We are sure if they continue like this they will be ready and we want our future to be a good team with positive experienced players alongside the young talented players."
