Boreham Wood v West Ham United
Pre-season Match, LV Bet Stadium, Monday 10 July 2023, 7pm BST
West Ham United’s 2023/24 season preparations get underway on Monday with a first pre-season fixture of the summer.
David Moyes’ Irons will make the short trip anti-clockwise on the M25 to visit Vanarama National League side Boreham Wood, kicking off a pre-season schedule that will also see the Hammers travel to Australia, France and Germany.
It was only four-and-a-half weeks ago that West Ham ended the 2022/23 campaign in the most spectacular of fashions, lifting the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy thanks to a 2-1 win over Italian side ACF Fiorentina.
Now, as the team begin preparations for another Premier League season a third consecutive year of European football, they will face a Boreham Wood side that opened their own pre-season fixture schedule with a 0-0 draw at home to EFL Championship side Watford on Wednesday.
Tickets…
Tickets for this match are on sale now on a first come, first serve basis, and can be purchased direct from Boreham Wood FC.
Adult prices are £15, as are Over-65s. Under 18s can attend Monday’s pre-season match for £10, while under-12s can buy their tickets for just £5. Tickets for under five-year-olds are just £2.
Tickets can be bought direct from Boreham Wood FC at the link here.
Travel…
If you are taking the train from central London, the nearest station to Boreham Wood is Elstree & Boreham Wood, which is on the Thameslink line from St Pancras to Luton and Bedford.
Services run regularly before and after the game. From the station, it's less than a mile's walk, or there is also the option of the 292 bus.
Supporters wishing to drive should note that there is a ‘pay and display’ car park located close to the LV Bet Stadium, on Brook Road. Leave the M25 at Junction 23 and take the A1 towards London. Then leave the A1 at the first turn off and take the A5135 towards Boreham Wood.
Continue along the A5135 towards the town centre, going straight across at the first small roundabout and at the next large roundabout, take the second exit onto Brook Road, signposted Boreham Wood Football Club.
How To Follow…
All the action from our first Pre-season Match can be followed in our live blog on whufc.com on Monday, which will commence 90 minutes before kick-off.
Match action will also be available on our social media channels, with highlights and exclusive reaction after the final whistle.
Team News…
The first-team squad who have not been involved in international fixtures over June and early July returned to pre-season training on Thursday, and could all be involved in Monday’s match at Meadow Park.
The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Danny Ings, Kurt Zouma, Aaron Cresswell, Łukasz Fabiański and Pablo Fornals could be involved, as could Angelo Ogbonna – who signed a new, one-year deal with the Hammers this week.
Pre-season also provides manager David Moyes and his coaching staff to take a closer look at the developing talent in the Academy of Football. Divin Mubama, Levi Laing, Kaelan Casey and Ollie Scarles were among the names to earn senior debuts last season, and will each be looking to impress the first-team coaching staff in the coming weeks.
Boreham Wood have confirmed four new signings so far this summer in midfielders Mo Sagaf and Tom Whelan, as well as forwards Timmy Abraham and Ángelo Balanta. Monday’s fixture could provide the home supporters with the opportunity to see each of their new acquisitions in action.
Opposition…
Boreham Wood give the air of a team ready to challenge for a spot in the EFL.
Having entered the Vanarama National League in the 2014/15 season, the Wood have been a consistent performer in the division, regularly finishing in the play-off positions and challenging among the top sides in the competition.
A rise through the football pyramid has seen the side win Division One East in 2006, before promotion to the then-Conference South in 2010. Five years later, another promotion was achieved through the play-offs, and Boreham Wood’s rise continued.
A fourth-place finish in the National League in 2017/18 was followed by fifth in the 2018/19. Another fifth in the curtailed 2019/20 season was then followed by two finishes outside the play-off places - 14th and eighth, respectively – but last season’s efforts suggest Luke Garrard’s side are ready to push again this coming campaign. Losing to play-off winners Notts County in the semi-finals indicate they are not very far away.
Previous Meetings…
The Hammers made the trip over to Borehamwood for a pre-season match last season too, facing The Wood at Meadow Park in a 1-1 draw in early July.
Saïd Benrahma had fired the visitors in front with a well-placed free-kick midway through the first half, but Will Evans drew his side level shortly after the break in a match that saw Italian centre-back Ogbonna make his long-awaited come-back from an ACL injury.
Sam Allardyce also took his West Ham team to Boreham Wood for a pre-season fixture in July 2013, with the Irons running out 3-0 winners that day.
Current first-team coach and former captain Kevin Nolan opened the scoring for the Hammers that day, before Ravel Morrison and Ricardo Vaz Tê netted in the second half.
The Irons were captained by former Boreham Wood midfielder Pelly Ruddock that day.
