WEST HAM UNITED
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ROYSTON TOWN
Garden Walk
1 - 1 (Harwood)
28 July 1988
STEVENAGE BOROUGH
Stevenage Stadium:
6 - 0 (King 3, Keen 2, Dicks)
30 July 1988
RIIHIMAEKI (Finland)
Riihimaen Pallokentta
2 - 1 (Slater, Rosenior)
2 August 1988
EAST HAM UNITED
Ferndale Sports Ground
2 - 1 (Harwood, King)
2 August 1988
BASILDON UNITED
Basildon Bowl
3 - 2 (King 2, Kelly P.)
4th August 1988
NO PROGRAMME ISSUED
ILVES TAMPERE (Finland)
0 - 1
4 August 1988
Visit to Finland
2 - 5 August 1988
NORWAY Under 21 (Norway) 3rd/4th Play-off
1 - 1 (Brady) won 4 - 2 on penalties
5 August 1988
CHELMSFORD CITY
New Writtle Street
2 - 0 (Clarke, Livett)
6 August 1988
ALDERSHOT
Recreation Ground
4 - 0 (Rosenior, Kelly D., Slater, Ward)
9 August 1988
MARLOW
Oak Tree Road
1 - 2 (Livett)
9 August 1988
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
Goldstone Ground
0 - 1
11 August 1988
DOVER ATHLETIC
Crabble
1 - 0 (Livett [pen])
11 August 1988
HOUNSLOW
Denbigh Road
1 - 2 (Livett [pen])
13 August 1988
HARROW BOROUGH
Earlsmead
1 - 2 (Macklin)
16 August 1988
CARDIFF CITY : Graham Moseley Testimonial
Ninian Park
4 - 3 (Kelly D. 2, Keen, Slater)
17 August 1988
WARE
Buryfield
3 - 1 (King 2, Parris)
18 August 1988
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR : Alvin Martin Testimonial
Upton Park
2 - 0 (Gale, Hilton)
21 August 1988
HARROW BOROUGH
Earlsmere
5 - 1 (Livett 2 [2 pens], Achampong, Dolan, Kelly P.)
19 January 1989
Image courtesy of Nigel Turner
Our 1987 pre-season visit to Finland was an enjoyable success, so we accepted the opportunity to return to Scandinavia in early August for three matches.
17 players travelled: Liam Brady. Alan Dickens, Julian Dicks, Eamonn Dolan, Tony Gale, Kevin Keen, Alvin Martin, Tom McAlister, Allen McKnight, Tommy McQueen. Steve Ports, Stewart Robson. Leroy Rosenior, Stuart Slater, Roy Stewart, Gary Strodder and Mark Ward. Manager John Lyall, Ron Boyce, Mick McGiven and Rob Jenksins (physio) were responsible on the playing side; Messrs Will Cearns (Vice-Chairman) and Jack Petchey were the Directors who attended to the formal functions.
We were most fortunate in having Mr. Johan Bjork as courier. His company Bjork & Bostrom is based in Umea, Sweden, and organises tours in and from Scandinavia, particularly soccer and ice-hockey.
An afternoon flight from Heathrow (plus a two-hour time change) produced an evening arrival in Helsinki, from which there was a one-hour journey to Riihimaeki which was to be our headquarters for two nights.
The opening match was against the local club (known as R.I.P.S.). The weather was sunny, the ground in good shape and a 1,500 gate made the organisers happy. The home supporters were happy when their team took the lead in the 26th minute. The scorer - Kinnunen - was a guest player from Lahti - the club which we met in the European Cup Winners Cup competition in 1975; a team mate, plus another from Haka and the goalkeeper of the Finnish national team strengthened the opposition; they held the advantage until the 32nd minute when Stuart Slater equalised with a left-foot shot just inside the upright. Both managers made second-half changes and each 'keeper was called upon to make good saves before we netted the winner. Liam Brady's long pass from the centre-circle put Mark Ward away on the right, and a quick centre was headed in by Leroy Rosenior to settle the issue.
The party departed on Wednesday morning for the 75-mile coach journey to Tampere. It turned wet on the Wednesday, and it was fortunate that we could make use of a magnificent indoor arena for a couple of training sessions - although some ball-work on grass would have been appreciated.
the weather cleared before the opening match of the Finnair Tournament on Thursday, although there were intermittent showers later. A single goal decided the match between Finnish League leaders HJK Helsinki and the Norwegian Under-21 select, the Nordic 'keeper making a fatal error that presented HJK with an easy opportunity.
Finnair Tournament : Finland
4 - 5 August 1988
Our starting line-up against the local club lives Tampere was deprived of Alvin Martin and Stewart Robson who both failed fitness tests. Nevertheless, the Hammers created sufficent chances with an amended formation to have gained a merited victory. We dominated about 80 per cent of the play, but the finishing was poor and the home goalkeeper rarely troubled. There was some "needle" in the game, and within a minute of the restart after a goalless first-half the referee awarded a penalty to lives. A successful convension by Aaltonen put the Finns one up, and they held out to frustrate a Hammers XI which tried hard enough but could gain no reward for its efforts.
The attendance on the first evening of the Tournament was officially returned at 1183, but had a larger audience on the second day - augmented by "live" TV from the local station.
We were the first match "on stage" on Friday 5 August; Alvin Martin returned for the third-fourth play-off against the Norway Under-21 side but Leroy Rosenior had not recovered from a knock received in the preceding game.
The Hammers had most of the play in the first half, winning five corner-kicks to the opposition's three, but missed several chances of gaining a lead. Eamonn Dolan hit the bar with one shot but our finishing was poor and it took a couple of excellent saves by Tom McAlister to keep the score-line blank. Then immediately after the interval we gave away a "gift goal"; repeated attacks produced no equaliser until Stuart Slater laid on a pass for Liam Brady to net from ten yards.
Another good run by Slater ended with him making a back-pass to Mark Ward; we thought it deservedly made the score 2-1 as Ward tucked the ball away but up went the linesman's flag for offside - and a 1 -1 count ordained a penalty shoot-out. Hammers found the net four times in succession (Stewart, McQueen, Brady and Keen each beating the goalkeeper); the Norwegians equalised the first two, but two stops by McAlister left us 4-2 overall winners. It was an "early call' for everyone on the return journey. Up at 4 a.m., on the coach to Tampeve Airport at 5, followed by a short flight that landed us in Helsinki at 6.15. We were due for a three-hour wait in the capital prior to the second leg to London, but eventually sat there for five hours due to the flight-computer at West Drayton going off the air. However - by picking up a two-hour time change en route- the Hammer's squad arrived at Heathrow around 1.15 on a baking hot afternoon. At least it provided the opportunity to catch up on sleep before training was resumed on the following Monday in preparation for a quartet of pre-season First Team squad games.
McKnight
Stewart
Walford (Macklin)
Hilton
Strodder
Ince
Ward
Livett (Clarke)
Dolan
McQueen
Harwood
Parkes
Pearson
Pask
Hilton
Walford (Knibbs)
Kelly P. (Rush)
Ince
Livett
King
Harwood
Clarke
Parkes, Pearson, Pask, Hilton, Walford, Kelly P., Parris, Livett, King, Harwood, Macklin (Clarke)
McKnight (McAlister)
Stewart
Dicks
Dickens (Brady)
Martin (Strodder)
Gale
Ward
Slater
Rosenior (Dolan)
Keen
Potts
McKnight, Stewart, Dicks, Dickens (Brady), Strodder, Gale, Ward, Slater, Rosenior, Potts, Keen
McAlister, Stewar, tMcQueen, Dickens (Brady), Martin, Gale, Ward, Potts, Slater, Dolan, Keen
Parkes
Pearson
Pask
Hilton
Walford
Kelly P. (Rush)
Parris
Livett
King
Harwood
Clarke (Shaw)
Parkes
Potts
Dicks
Gale (Hilton)
Martin
Keen
Ward
Dickens (Parris)
Rosenior
Kelly D. (Slater)
Robson
McAlister
Pearson
McQueen
Strodder
Walford (Knibbs)
Devonshire
Kelly P.
Pask (Gibbons)
Livett
Clarke
Harwood
Parkes (McAlister)
Potts
Dicks
Gale
Martin
Keen
Ward
Dickens
Rosenior (Slater)
Kelly D.
Robson
McKnight
Pearson
McQueen
Strodder
Walford
Ince
Kelly P. (Macklin)
Livett
King
Brady
Harwood
Parkes
Parris
Walford (Harwood)
Hilton
Strodder
Devonshire
Livett
Ince
King (Kelly P.)
Slater
McQueen (Pearson)
McAlister
Pearson
Walford
Pask
Strodder
Devonshire
Kelly P.
Livett
King
Macklin
Harwood
McKnight
Parris (Potts)
Dicks
Hilton
Martin
Keen
Ward
Brady (Ince)
Rosenior (Slater)
Kelly D.
Robson
Parkes
Parris
Walford
Hilton
Strodder
Devonshire
Livett (Pearson)
Ince
King
Dickens
Harwood (Kelly P.)
McAlister (McKnight)
Potts (Devonshire)
Dicks (Ince)
Gale
Martin
Keen
Ward (Hilton)
Parris
Rosenior (Slater)
Kelly D.
Robson
Parkes
Pearson
McQueen
Hilton
Walford (Pask)
Livett
Keen
Kelly P. (King)
Harwood (Macklin)
Dolan
Achampong
McAlister
Potts
Dicks
Gale
Martin
Devonshire
Keen
Dickens
King
Slater
Robson
A programme of ten matches was scheduled under the heading of "Reserve Team friendlies", but the Xl's which actually participated included several First Team squad membeis in order that as many players as possible could have competitive opposition prior to the more serious business of "games for points".
The series opened at the Garden Walk Ground in Royston, Herts., on 27 July. New goalkeeper Allen McKnight made his first appearance. The Town side went one up after half-time, but we gained a late equaliser as Chris Harwood converted a centre by Tommy McQueen. Another of our summer siglnings - YTS youngster Simon Clarke - was one of the playing subs.
We had a resounding 6-0 success against another Hertfordshire club three days later. The victims were Stevenage Town, who conceded a trio of goals in each half. The Hammers sustained an early casualty when Stewart Robson had a tumble and jarred his back (which later involved treatment whilst on the tour to Finland). Adam King did well to score a hat-trick, with Kevin Keen (two) and Julians Dicks completing the half-dozen.
The Hammers had a very short journey for an away fixture on Tuesday 2 August -down East Ham High Street South and Manor Way to Savage Gardens where East Ham United were the hosts. Our local rivals were one up at the interval, but Chris Haywood and Adam King settled it at 2-1 in our favour.
The game at Basildon Bowl two days later was a well-contested duel. Adam King was again on the mark with a couple of goals and Paul Kelly also got his name on the list. The local United XI fought back from a two-goal deficit and reduced the margin before the Hammers scored their third. Then Basildon got another, but we did well to gain the 3-2 victory.
Both teams suffered in the heat on the hottest day of the year so far (August 6), so the game against Southern Leaguers Chelmsford City at Layer Road was rarely at full pace. The Hammers' rearguard was identical to that of the two preceding games but the remainder of the XI was shuffled-around. The two Simons - Clarke and Livett - each scored once in our 2-0 victory.
The second-string lost for the first time when we visited Marlow on 9 August. The Thames-aiders achieved a 2-1 success in a game which produced a below-par performance by the Hammers. The Vauxhall-Opel League took a first-half lead, but Livett levelled the count prior to the interval. The winner was netted midway through the second session.
The second-squad was considerably amended for the visit to Dover a couple of days later. The Athletic club gained promotion to the Premier Division of the Beazer Homes (Southern) League last season under the managership of ex-Hammer Chris Kinnear. The Kent club put us under a lot of pressure before conceding an 80th-minute penalty which was converted by Livett. Tha was the only goal of an interesting game during which Allen McKnight saved a spot-kick to retain a clean sheet.
The Hounslow FC ground is situatei close to London Airport, and our match there on August 13th was played to the accompaniment of low-flying aircraft. Livett converted another spot-kick to put us one up at half-time, and we had enough of the ball to have made the game secure before the homesters equalised. Then a few minutes from time a series of strange decisions allowed play to continue when an opponen was obviously offside; well clear of the defence, he went on to score and finalise the result at 2-1 for the Middlesex Club.
Another visit to our neighbouring County took place on August 16th. The Harrow Borough pitch at Earlsmead is possibly the best in Middlesex at the present time, the play ing-surface rivalling that of Wembley Stadium on its better days. This was an excellent game during which the Hammers did everything except score - with one exception! Tony Macklin equalised the homesters' first goal, but we could (ant should) have had a comfortable lead by half-time. It continued that way after the interval, and another goal by our hosts left them as 2-1 winners.
The concluding fixture in this series was a Bury Field, Ware on 18th August. The weather was dull and the first half was rather reflective of the conditions as neither team could find the net but the Hammers' second session form was all one could wish for George Parris opened our account and Adam King added two more before Ware gained a "consolation" with a late penalty conversion final score 3-1. George Parris and Paul Hilton had both played in the testimonial match a Cardiff the previous evening, and in particular it was a good testing for George after his absence through injury.
The ten pre-season reserve games produced six wins, one draw and three defeats the Hammers scored 21 goals and conceded eleven.
Glen Burville was playing mid-field against his old club, but neither he or his Aldershot colleagues could stem the inevitable goal - rush which began in the 33rd minute as Rosenior converted Keen's centre. David Kelly marked his Hammers' debut in the 49th minute by netting with a first-time shot as he moved on to Gale's through pass. Stuart Slater subbed for the Eire international after 72 minutes, and he made it 3-0 as Rosenior's shot rebounded from the advancing keeper. Ward made the final score 4-0 with two minutes remaining on the clock.
Hammers' new boy David Kelly caused a bundle of trouble for Brighton. But the £600,000 slgnings from Walsall couldn't hit the target to stop West Ham from slipping to a 1-0 defeat at the Goldstone.
The goal came, ironically, from Doug Rougvie. who late last season vowed never to kick a ball again for the Seagulls after a row with manager Barry Lloyd.
Rougvie powered home a fine header In the 76th minute after a series of near misses by the Hammers attack.
The Hammers travelled to Ninian Park for a Testimonial Match for Graham Moseley. The 4,500 fans who turned up were regally entertained with good football and seven goals. The Hammers netted the first two, but Cardiff City stormed back to take a 3-2 lead at half-time. Then the Hammers took the initiative, scoring twice during a fine second-half to win by 4-3. David Kelly got a couple, Kevin Keen and Stuart Slater one apice.
Our senior squad's concluding "warm up" engagement was Alvin Martin's Testimonial Match against Spurs. The play was generally bright and lively, and Tony Gale certainly lit up the proceedings when he put the Hammers one up in the 33rd minute with a tremendous shot that bent away from Bobby Mimms during its 20 yard route inside the far post.
It was a pleasure to see Alan Devonshire came on for the closing 20 minutes, and the Hammers' supporters' joy was heightened as Paul Hilton made it two-nil with a clever piece of finishing three minutes after moving off the subs' bench.
ESSEX v. SUSSEX : BHS School Soccer Challenge
Chadwell Heath
28 October 1988
Image courtesy of Simon Lord