Hammers confirm Stevenage friendly

West Ham United will travel to Sky Bet League Two side Stevenage for a pre-season match on Saturday 12 July (kick-off 3pm) as Sam Allardyce's men gear up for the 2014/15 campaign.

In the first of their domestic summer 2014 friendlies to be confirmed, the Hammers will make the short journey to Hertfordshire to take on a Boro team who reached the fourth round of the FA Cup this term.

Stevenage could not match those heights in their league campaign and were relegated from League One following their defeat to Bristol City on Easter Monday, although they will be looking to bounce straight back next term.

The Hammers have never faced Stevenage in competitive action, although young striker Tony Stokes did score once in three Conference Premier appearances for the Lamex Stadium club whilst on loan from West Ham in the 2007/08 season. More recently, Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Joe Cole, Andy Carroll, James Collins and Matt Jarvis all took part in the Mitchell Cole Benefit Game at Stevenage last May.

Later in pre-season, West Ham will travel to New Zealand for fixtures against Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC as part of a tournament also featuring Newcastle United. Big Sam's side will then take part in the Schalke 04 Cup in Germany, alongside hosts Schalke, Newcastle United and La Liga outfit Malaga CF.

The tournament, which will be played at Schalke's Veltins-Arena on 2 & 3 August, sees the Hammers face two of the three other competing teams.

Ticketing details for the trip to Stevenage will be announced on whufc.com in due course.