By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Of course, we have to start with the standard caveat, which is never read too much into pre-season friendlies. And that was certainly the case after West Ham’s 5-0 victory against Stevenage last night.
Whilst it was clearly little more than a fitness exercise, it was still interesting to see how a few of Nuno Espírito Santo’s players are getting along in their race towards full fitness before the start of the Championship campaign.
Stevenage, of course, are no mugs, having reached the League One play-offs last season. But, in truth, they were nowhere near West Ham’s level.
The Hammers went 1-0 up early in the first half. A cross from Pablo saw James Ward-Prowse’s initial effort saved by Stevenage goalkeeper Marshall before the midfielder followed up to score the rebound.
West Ham’s second came following a through ball from Jarrod Bowen, which was clinically finished by Taty Castellanos, sending Nuno Espírito Santo’s side into half-time with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Kyle Walker-Peters, Ward-Prowse, Bowen and Castellanos all looked a class above anything Stevenage had to offer, so my curious eye naturally wandered elsewhere to see if there were any unexpected performances.
Golambeckis Catches The Eye
It was Airidas Golambeckis who really caught my attention.
Playing alongside Max Kilman at centre-back, the 18-year-old looked assured, commanding in the air, showed excellent positional sense and appeared significantly better than any of the Stevenage players he came up against.
That alone should make selecting a loan destination for next season very interesting because, even from this brief glimpse, he looked above League One level.
Unfortunately, you have to feel sorry for the young defender.
Having timed almost every leap to perfection throughout the game, Golambeckis later landed awkwardly after challenging for another header and appeared to suffer what could be quite a nasty ankle or knee injury.
He’ll be gutted because it had been a performance that was sure to have impressed his manager.
Airidas Golambeckis impressed for West Ham against Stevenage before suffering a second-half injury scare.
Youngsters Continue To Impress
Another player with a very bright future is Lewis Orford, who scored West Ham’s third goal with a superb long-range curling effort.
Orford is a cultured, intelligent footballer who would probably benefit from stepping up and playing alongside more senior professionals. His thinking often appears to be a step ahead of those around him.
He regularly plays passes into areas where teammates should be arriving rather than where they actually are… No bad trait when playing alongside others with similar football intelligence.
That said, he does appear to have developed an excellent understanding with Preston Fearon, another technically gifted footballer, who should probably have finished the evening with two assists after producing an excellent through ball for Callum Marshall.
Josh Ajala also got on the scoresheet thanks to a fortunate ricochet, but it was no more than he deserved. His pace was a welcome addition to what can sometimes be quite a slow West Ham side.
Fearon finished the game in style too, producing a wonderful pass for Murphy to tap home the Hammers’ fifth.
All in all, it was a very worthwhile run-out.
But whilst there were plenty of positives to take from the evening, Golambeckis will undoubtedly be the most disappointed man in the dressing room after picking up an injury in what had been a hugely impressive display during West Ham’s 5-0 win over Stevenage.
I would add Fearon and Battrum were also outstanding last night.
Surely would we not be better to keep some of these players to put on the bench rather than send them out on lone
It is a back up??