Hammers 3 - 0 Strangely (390053896)

54710 punters turned up at West Ham, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Lluís Cañas was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ori Liani and Silvio Waldburger. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Hammers. Starters: Corpet - Gobin, Breitenstein, Lakatos - González, Sparks, Hand, Rutland, Ölçek - Prieto, Tresó.

Strangely started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Benoist - Schmidt, Eleuteri, Galata, Eicke, Corne - Spinelli, Wäch, MacInnes, Baselmans - Katser.

Strangely were relying on their ability to counter-attack. This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when E. Katser slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against B. Corpet, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. Hammers fans held their breath as S. Hand scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 1 - 0! After 43 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by J. Breitenstein might have resulted in another goal for Hammers. However, B. Benoist made a spectacular save. 1 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Hammers, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

Hammers managed to extend their lead to 2 - 0 when A. Lakatos cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. The home side's E. González came close to extending the lead 62 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but B. Benoist managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. Hammers increased the lead as D. Ölçek struck to make the score 3 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. Good work by the Hammers defensive line after 67 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found J. Breitenstein alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. Strangely's defence sent a ball soaring up the middle on a beautiful counterattack with 68 minutes gone, but O. Spinelli's finish was met by the reaching hands of the keeper. Hammers enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 63 percent of possession.

Hammers's top performer was clearly D. Prieto. J. Breitenstein on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Strangely player was without a doubt P. MacInnes. M. Corne was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 0.