Kamarai Swyer’s first 45 minutes of the 2023/24 pre-season couldn’t have gone much better.
The 20-year-old was named in David Moyes’ starting Xi for the opening pre-season match ahead of the new campaign, which saw the Hammers head to Meadow Park to take on National League side Boreham Wood for the second year in succession.
Swyer joined fellow Academy of Football talent Levi Laing in team that began the action in Hertfordshire on Monday evening, whilst a number of other young prospects joined Jarrod Bowen and Emerson Palmieri on the substitutes bench.
Whilst Swyer is no stranger to Hammers fans, having made his first team debut in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season in the 3-0 win over FCSB, they had yet to see him notch a goal in Claret & Blue in a first-team fixture, until now.
The winger ghosted in off the right-hand flank and met a brilliantly delivered cross from Pablo Fornals with superb precision, powering a header beyond Wood goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore for the Hammers’ second of the night.
Watch full highlights from the 4-1 win over Boreham Wood here!
Swyer was pleased to take his chance, and hopes that more will follow when heads out to Australia with the squad this week.
“It’s not a bad way to start at all,” the youngster smiled, speaking to West Ham TV after the match.
“I thought that it was quite a tough first half, everyone was getting back into it and getting used to being back out on the pitch again.
“The chance came and I was pleased that it did, Pablo had the ball and I just tried to get across the front of the defenders and luckily I did that and finished it as well.
“You don’t often get many chances because we have some many talented players in the first-team squad, so when you do get an opportunity you have to try and take it.”
The Irons have only been back in pre-season training since Thursday, meaning that this match came earlier than in their pre-season schedule than previous years, as First Team Coach Billy McKinlay explained.
For Swyer, though, there’s no better feeling that getting back out onto the pitch and getting those all important minutes into the legs in preparation for another long season of highs and lows.
He’s hoping that hard work will continue to present him with opportunities to impress.
“Pre-season has been good, we’ve been back for five or so days now and it’s been really good, but tough.
“There’s nothing quite like being on the pitch. We do the training and the runs, work in the gym – but when you’re playing in a game it’s just a different experience. It was great to be back out there tonight.
“Now we look forward to the trip to Australia, it’s somewhere I’ve never been so I’m happy to be going and excited to be involved in the trip.
“For me personally I have to keep building, working on my game and keep doing the same things that I’ve been doing recently and working hard,” he concluded.
