West Ham United 1-3 Crystal Palace
Stateside Cup, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, USA, Saturday 3 August 2024, 7pm EDT
Lightning struck twice in storm-threatened Florida as West Ham United were defeated 3-1 by English Premier League opposition in the Stateside Cup.
A week on from being defeated by Wolverhampton Wanderers in rain-soaked Jacksonville, the Hammers were beaten by Crystal Palace by the same scoreline in Tampa, which is set to be affected by Tropical Storm Debby when she passes through the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.
Again, the Irons conceded early, this time to Tyrick Mitchell within 30 seconds of kick-off, before getting themselves back on level terms by half-time, this time when Michail Antonio robbed American defender Chris Richards and ran through to score, delighting the thousands of West Ham fans at Raymond James Stadium.
Again, though, West Ham were unable to maintain the momentum they built up after equalising and conceded two more goals in the second half – on this occasion to Jeffrey Schlupp’s well-placed glancing header and Odsonne Edouard’s opportunistic run and powerful finish.
In truth, Palace were good value for their victory and it would have been by a wider margin had goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański not made at least four strong saves to keep his team in the game.
Mitchell struck early with an accurate right-foot shot before the former Poland international denied Will Hughes and Edouard in quick succession. In between, Antonio claimed a penalty for a trip by Palace captain Joachim Andersen, but the appeals were waved away.
The Eagles continued to get their claws into West Ham and Fabiański frustrated Edouard again before the east Londoners levelled out of almost nothing on 21 minutes. Richards’ pass was short and Antonio reacted quickly before striding through and shooting past Dean Henderson.
Julen Lopetegui’s side then enjoyed their best period of the game as Emerson fired over, Mohammed Kudus saw his shot deflected wide, then in a bizarre passage of play Vladimír Coufal curled a cross onto the post and Emerson saw his follow-up shot diverted just past the post.
To complete an entertaining first half, Jordan Ayew then somehow volleyed a yard wide himself when it appeared easier to put Palace back in front.
As it was, the Ghanaian did not rue his profligacy as the Eagles took flight in the second half, as a succession of substitutions disrupted their opponents’ rhythm.
Oliver Glasner’s side went back in front on 66 minutes when Ayew crossed from the right and Schlupp timed his run perfectly to get in front of Dinos Mavropanos and flick a header high into the far corner.
And the game was over four minutes later when Nayef Aguerd lost possession, Eduoard won it, went past Maximilian Kilman and shot powerfully under Fabiański and into the net.
There was still time for the 39-year-old to make another fine save, this time from Schlupp, before Luis Guilherme dragged his chance at setting up a grandstand finish across the face of goal after being played in by fellow teenager Callum Marshall.
And so it was that the Hammers were unable to emulate the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lifted a trophy in this stadium when they won the Super Bowl in 2021, and instead it will be Crystal Palace who will fly back to London with the Stateside Cup in their luggage.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal (Kodua 81), Mavropanos, Kilman, Cresswell © (Luis Guilherme 64), Emerson (Earthy 74), Potts (Aguerd HT), Ward-Prowse, Souček (Irving 81), Kudus, Antonio (Marshall 64)
Subs not used: Herrick (GK), Robinson, Casey, Orford, Kelly, Scarles
Goal: Antonio 21
Booked: Souček, Aguerd
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Mitchell, Andersen ©, Riad, Richards, Clyne, Hughes, Kamada, Schlupp (Umeh, 85), Edouard (Mathurin, 85), Ayew (Rodney, 85)
Subs not used: Matthews (GK), Rak-Sakyi, Devenny
Goals: Mitchell 1, Schlupp 66, Edouard 69
Booked: Andersen
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
