West Ham had their official opening match at the former Olympic Stadium when they took on Italian Champions Juventus on Sunday afternoon, one week before the Premier League 16/17 season kicks off.
The Top Flight
Before the match the club had the official opening ceremony for the stadium and the official ‘naming’ of the stands, which have taken the same names as the stands at Upton Park honouring West Ham legends Sir Trevor Brooking and Bobby Moore.
A large dance number and several bursts of flame accompanied large pictures of the home and Thames Iron Works commemorative kit as the teams entered the stadium through the tunnel, and as the teams lined up they were greeted with several rousing renditions of Bubbles which brought West Ham captain Mark Noble to tears.
The match started evenly as West Ham worked hard to try and dominate the midfield in an attempt to keep Juventus at bay. However it did not take that long for the quality of the Old Lady to show on the sunny afternoon.
The Italian side used their front men to great effect as Mandzukic was found at the far post, rising well above Reid to knock it down to last season’s top scorer Dybala who left Adrian no with a smart finish across the goal for 1-0.
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Dybala then left Reid on the ground after a pacey run at the defence and then squared to give Mandzukic a chance he could not miss, Adrian left exposed again. At this point many fans were fearing an embarrassing opening game, but West Ham began to get a foothold in the game despite some beautiful passing from Juventus.
After some solid work by Enner Valencia down the left wing the ball was played back to Byram (who was solid despite being out of position), who found Carroll with a great cross. The header was kept out by a great Buffon save but the Juventus defence could not stop Carroll muscling the ball over the line.
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The score was 2-1 at half time, and with the introduction of the worlds 3rd most expensive player ever in Gonzalo Higuain, a lot of fans I was sitting with were worries the Italian side could kick on.
However the £75m man was little short of woeful, and it was West Ham’s record signing that scored the first goal of the second half, rising once again to beat the Juventus defence to a Mark Noble freekick and head low into the net.
The game petered out and looked to be heading to penalties to decide the Betway Cup a long ball caught Reece Oxford out and allowed former West Ham target Simeone Zaza in to slot past Adrian, who by now had conceded 3 goals in which he had little say.
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The match may have been a loss but most of the fans I spoke to said they had enjoyed the day and the stadium, but had some concerns that the stadium was a bit commercial for their taste, with popcorn being sold making it feel more like a theater than a football match.
I am sure the stadium intensity will grow in the important matches, and I look forward to seeing what we can do with our new home.