ROYALS TO HOST HAMMERS IN PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
READING FC will host Premier League West Ham United in a pre-season friendly for the second consecutive season.
David Moyes’ team will make the trip to the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday, July 16 (3pm kickoff).
The Hammers ran out as 3-0 winners when they travelled to Berkshire to face Reading in pre-season in July last year.
The Irons enjoyed another exceptional campaign under Moyes which ended with them falling just short in their Europa League adventure.
Having beaten serial European winners Sevilla and French giants Lyon, West Ham were knocked out in the semi-finals by German side Eintracht Frankfurt who went on to lift the trophy after defeating Rangers on penalties.
West Ham secured European qualification after finishing seventh in the Premier League in the 2021/22 season.
Reading’s last competitve match against West Ham came in the 2012/13 Premier League season where the Hammers were 4-2 winners at Upton Park.
Goals from Garath McCleary and Adam Le Fondre helped the Royals draw lebvel but they were eventually beaten by a Kevin Nolan hat-trick in a match.
In the reverse fixture earlier that season, Reading earned three points at the Madejski Stadium as Pavel Pogrebnyak’s fifth minute strike proved to be decisive.
Reading have more happy memories of facing the Hammers, including a 4-2 win at Upton Park in March 2012 in a tremendous away performance which set
Brian McDermott’s side up for an outstanding end to the campaign that saw them storm to the Championship title.
Steve Coppell’s side earned one of the best results in the club’s history when they welcomed West Ham to the Madejski on New Year’s Day 2007.
In their debut season in the top flight that finished in an incredible eighth place finish, Reading tore past the East London side with a brace from Kevin Doyle and goals from Brynjar Gunnarsson, Stephen Hunt and Leroy Lita to race to a
6-0 success.
Ending the season with 16 wins, eight draws and 14 defeats, the Hammers finished on 56 points which saw them qualify for the Europa Conference League after they were pipped to a Europa League spot by Manchester United on the final day of the season.
Paul Ince’s men will also face National League team Maidenhead United at Bearwood Park in a behind-closed-doors match on Tuesday, July 12 (1pm kick-off).
Tickets for the match against West Ham will be announced by the club in due course.