West Ham drop Betway Cup in preseason finale to Bilbao

They didn’t do themselves any favors in this one, but yet again West Ham show their resiliency in another come-from-behind performance. Despite their best efforts, however, the Hammers come up short and lose in penalties to Athletic Club Bilbao.

The preseason finale had some weight to it for West Ham as the prestigious Betway Cup would be awarded to the winner. The Hammers were reigning champions of this trophy (Tottenham would likely make a DVD about it), but the match didn’t start as planned for Sebastien Haller and the Irons.

An early corner kick was repelled but only as far as the wide Bilbao attacker who sent a hotshot back in towards Roberto’s net. Haller was on the front post defending the previous delivery and sent a boot in to launch the ball away only to have it rip over his boot and past Roberto into the net. Bilbao 1-0 WHU.

The Hammers picked up pace after this start, attacking down Aaron Cresswell’s left side of the pitch. Cresswell, who hasn’t been massively inspiring this preseason, had a phenomenal match against Bilbao. He linked up well with the attacking midfield options and opened up attacking lanes down the flank all match.

Regardless of the Hammers efforts, a quick counter-attack from Bilbao down Cresswell’s side eventually saw Inaki Williams blow by Fabian Balbuena to slot the ball in for the Spanish side’s second of the match. Bilbao 2-0 WHU.

Hellbent on getting back in the Betway Cup, West Ham collected themselves and poured on the pressure. In the 21st minute, Haller collects an errant clearance by Bilbao, taking it wide and feeding Pablo Fornals in the box. The Spaniard would pop up the ball, bicycle kick it to Lanzini in front who makes no mistake. Bilbao 2-1 WHU.

Just two minutes later the Hammers would level the match, again benefitting from Sebastien Haller’s elite hold up play and passing ability. Some terrific possession retention saw Haller collect the ball on the left side of the pitch, turning goalward and losing his coverage. The striker would pick up a late run from Jack Wilshere who would slot home far post. Bilbao 2-2 WHU.

The second half allowed the Hammers to continuously dominate the match, pressing the attack spurred on from swift possession recovery and slick passing. Even with massive changes coming to the team the Irons kept the pressure on and were able to look the more threatening team in the second period.

Of the second-half subs, Grady Diangana and Carlos Sanchez looked really strong. We know what were getting with Michail Antonio and Andriy Yarmolenko, but Diangana still has to etch his own path and Sanchez needs to win over his team, supporters, and managers. Both did well in this one, with Sanchez not giving away possession, outletting to the attack, and actually impressing with his passing. While Grady was a threat to score three times if not more.

The match would go to penalties where both Chicharito and Diangana would miss, allowing Bilbao’s one post shot to not factor into the decision. Bilbao 2-2 WHU .

Will we recover from the loss of the Betway Cup? Yes, but it will take time. In all seriousness, the team looked more cohesive, threatening, and solid outside of the first 15 minutes. Defensive lapses early put pressure on the team, but if the early storm can be weathered, the Hammers could do some damage this season.

Onward and upward to the regular season, we can’t wait!