West Ham United might be in the early stages of their preseason training, but they were in good enough form to give a Columbus Crew team comprised mostly of reserves a 3-1 defeat Sunday afternoon at Crew Stadium.
Dean Ashton and Kyel Reid scored for the Hammers and Crew defender Brad Evans scored an own goal that put the visitors ahead for good in the 26th minute after Crew teammate Jason Garey had tied the match at 1-1 in the 20th minute with a ripping header.
The Hammers used the match as a tune-up for facing the MLS All-Stars in Toronto on Thursday.
While West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley was concerned about the weather -- it was 90 degrees at kickoff -- his side engaged the Crew in an entertaining match, aided by liberal substitutions that saw both teams use the bench eight times.
West Ham trained through the match after arriving in Columbus late Friday. The Hammers had two workouts Saturday and another light practice the morning of the match.
Still, the Hammers presented a formidable lineup with the likes of Ashton, Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy, Mark Noble, Julien Faubert and goalkeeper Robert Green although several players from the full side are out with injuries.
U.S. defender Jonathan Spector (hip) joined the team Saturday but is not ready for training and Luis Boa Morte, who played for Fulham when the London-based club played the MLS All-Stars in Columbus in 2005, sat the match with a leg injury but should be fit for Thursday.
Spector said all of the players in the starting lineup vs. the Crew are in contention for the first XI.
Meanwhile, the Crew rested every regular from its 3-3 tie with Kansas City on Thursday and it showed in the disjointed effort and execution against the more experienced Hammers.
Crew coach Sigi Schmid brought on first-teamers Chad Marshall, Alejandro Moreno, Andy Iro, Brian Carroll and Stefani Miglioranzi once the match passed the hour mark, but the game was out of reach after the poor start.
The Hammers scored first when Ashton was dead-on with an 18-yard strike to the lower-left corner past Andy Gruenebaum in the 6th minute after taking a pass from Faubert.
The Crew responded in the 20th when Cory Elenio worked down the right side and serviced Garey for a header from 12 yards.
The tie was broken as Noble pressured Brad Evans and the midfielder struck out his leg for an errant clearance.
Bellamy was the catalyst for the third goal in the 53rd minute when his square ball was perfectly placed for Reid's strike from 10 yards.
West Ham United goalkeeper Robert Green, the subject of contract squabbling, made two saves in 76 minutes while reserve Andy Gruenebaum had one stop for Columbus. West Ham outshot the Crew 13-12 and had a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks. Befitting the exhibition, there were only 14 fouls, eight to the Crew.
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
