The background
West Ham United’s pre-season campaign continues on Tuesday evening as a Hammers XI make the trip to Essex to take on Colchester United.
Led by Terry Westley, the Hammers will be playing their third pre-season friendly following a 3-3 draw at Peterborough and Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Southend United
Tuesday's match against Colchester will complete a hat-trick of Sky Bet League One opposition, and they are at a similar stage of their pre-season, having won all three of their games to date.
On Saturday they had too much for Bishop’s Stortford, winning by the odd goal in five. That followed big wins over Heybridge Swifts (8-0) and Brentwood Town (4-0).
Former Hammers youngsters George Moncur, Jamie Harney and Kieran Bailey are all members of Tony Humes’ squad and will hope to take on their former team.
The history
Colchester United were formed in 1937 and first joined the Football League 13 years later. Save for a two-year spell in the Conference between 1990-92, the U’s have been members of the League ever since, reaching their peak position after being promoted to the Championship in 2006. A year later they finished tenth, but were relegated in 2007/08, their final campaign at Layer Road.
Since then, the U’s have been resident at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, a 10,105 seat venue constructed from 2007 and opened a year later.
The Hammers have never faced Colchester in competitive action, but the pair have faced off in friendlies. The most recent meeting came in summer 2013, when Joe Cole and James Collins were on target in a 2-1 West Ham victory.
Team news
West Ham United
With the Hammers taking on Birkirkara in Malta on Thursday, the Londoners are likely to field a relatively inexperienced side at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
Colchester United
Having stayed up on the final day of last season thanks to a 1-0 win over eventual Play-Off winners Preston North End, Colchester have reshaped their squad for the forthcoming League One campaign.
Out have gone the likes of defender Sean Clohessy, striker Jabo Ibehre, defender Magnus Okuonghae and midfielder David Fox.
They have been replaced with ex-Fulham and Millwall defender Matthew Briggs, Rotherham’s Richard Brindley and former Yeovil man Joe Edwards. Meanwhile powerhouse centre back George Elokobi has returned for a second spell with the Club.
Match facts
- George Moncur played one match for the Hammers in competitive football. That sole appearance came in the 5-0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest in January 2014 He has since scored eight goals in 41 league games for the U’s, including the strike which kept his Club up.
- Colchester’s three pre-season games to date have yielded 14 goals for Tony Humes’ men. They have conceded only twice.
- West Ham have also been prolific in their first two friendlies, scoring three goals at both Peterborough and Southend. However, they have conceded five times in those two matches.
- Another former Hammer, Freddie Sears, top scored for Colchester last term despite only being with the Club for half the season. He scored 14 goals in all competitions prior to moving on to Ipswich Town.
Tickets, Travel, Weather & TV Coverage
- Tickets for the match are available directly from Colchester United. Click here for full information.
- whufc.com will carry live updates throughout the night, with live text commentary, photos and stats.
- Trains run from Liverpool Street and Stratford to Colchester. The last train for London departs Colchester at 23:14
- The weather is set fair for Tuesday, with temperatures peaking at 23C (73F)