West Ham ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Reading on Wednesday evening and David Moyes was pleased with what he saw from his side. Second-half goals from Conor Coventry and Ben Johnson added to a Jeriel Dorsett own goal to seal the win, but as Moyes pointed out after the match in pre-season results are second to performance. The Hammers are still missing Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Andriy Yarmolenko after their Euro 2020 exertions but Moyes was happy to welcome back Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma to the team.
David Moyes said: “I’m pleased tonight because we played better than we have played in the other games, This was the first time we’ve brought the whole of the squad together for one game. We played a lot of the kids in Dundee and then with the two games at Leyton Orient and Northampton we split the teams up, so tonight was all the players, even though we did split them up again.
The Hammers goal was rarely threatened by Reading after the opening quarter but Moyes was satisfied with the way his team defended at the start and grew into the match.
David Moyes said: “We played well. The first 20 minutes especially was a good game. They had a few chances, we had a few chances and there was a really good tempo to the game, so hopefully we’ll benefit from that. I’ve got to say, there were a lot of good things. Most of the players are in good condition and tonight was tough because of the warmth and Reading are probably a week ahead of us as well, so it was a good workout for the players.”
Moyes stressed that results during pre-season are not important with the aim being to get his players fitness levels to where they need to be and for squad members to step up in the absence of the Hammers Euro 2020 stars.
David Moyes said: “We don’t get anything for winning these games, but what we’re trying to do is build momentum. Winning isn’t everything but we’re trying to build a bit of style and get back to the level quickly. It’s difficult at the moment because we’re certainly without some of our top players right now, but it’s an opportunity for other players to get themselves up to the level. We’ve got a lot of games next season and we’re going to need them all.”
