West Ham 1 Werder Bremen 2

West Ham United slipped to a 2-1 defeat to German side Werder Bremen in the Betway Cup on Sunday.

a Diafra Sakho opener, a cushioned volley from Dimitri Payet’s chipped delivery, an Anthony Ujah first-half brace was enough to seal the win for the visitors.

Julian Dicks: The young players are getting their chances. Reece is a very good player and we will use him when we can. I thought Lewis did well at left back. It was a good test for them.

“We have to close people down and work hard and I’m sure the gaffer will be working on that in training this week.”

http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/images/news/14635_g.jpg

Southampton 1 Espanyol 1

Jay Rodriguez’s brilliant long-range goal handed Saints a 1-1 draw with Espanyol in the final friendly match of pre-season.

The striker who started his first senior match at St Mary’s since 29th March 2014, struck an 85th minute equaliser to give the hosts a share of the spoils in a competitive warm-up encounter with the Spaniards.

Espanyol held a 1-0 half-time lead in the game thanks to a low strike from Salva Sevilla after 11 minutes, but never seriously threatened to add to that strike, as Saints bided their time to get the goal that the home crowd had been waiting for.

Ronald Koeman: “I’m not really happy I understand it is a friendly between the two European games and maybe it was a little bit too hot.

“But we started very sloppy. During the game it was a little bit better but it was not what I expect. The intensity was too little and that’s a mental question.”

http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/images/news/14636_g.jpg

Stoke City 0 Porto 3

STOKE CITY ended their pre-season preparations with a defeat against former Champions League winners FC Porto in the Colonia Cup on Sunday evening.

First half goals from Vincent Aboubakar and Alberto Bueno gave the Portuguese side a healthy lead at the break before a Yacine Brahimi penalty late in the second half secured victory at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Mark Hughes: “It was a good test and it was always going to be a hard contest, but we couldn’t quite select a side that could level their qualities.

“They had good movement and a lot of playing patterns that they obviously work on, that included plenty of power and pace to move us around.

“Sadly we couldn’t get on the front foot and put little bit of pressure on them, which really allowed them too much time and space. “

http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/images/news/14637_g.jpg

<#scfc #saintsfc #whufc>