West Ham United rounded off their pre-season schedule with a trip to Germany to face Bundesliga second division outfit FC Magdeburg, just one week before opening their competitive campaign against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup. Nuno Espírito Santo made one change to the side that drew with Rangers rewarding the impressive Lewis Orford with a start in place of James Ward-Prowse.
Max Kilman's first-half strike looked set to earn the Hammers victory, but Falko Michel's late equaliser ensured the hosts claimed a 1-1 draw in West Ham's final outing before the new season.
Story of the Match
The hosts enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages and created the first chance of the game when Mateuz Zukowski met a cross before Mads Hermansen. However, he could not keep his header below the crossbar.
West Ham's first opportunity came through Jarrod Bowen, who intercepted a loose pass from the FC Magdeburg back line before driving onto his right foot. His shot drifted wide of the post, though, as Bowen continued his search for his first goal in pre-season.
Bowen was soon involved again, this time latching onto a cutback from Kyle Walker-Peters. The captain's right footed shot was parried by Dominik Reimann, with the Magdeburg goalkeeper with a smart stop to keep the scores level.
West Ham broke the deadlock after just 20 minutes through Max Kilman. Lewis Orford's inviting corner found the defender, who met it sweetly on the volley, keeping his effort low as it nestled into the bottom corner to give West Ham a deserved advantage.
Fc Magdeburg had a chance to equalize with a chance from a corner but Tobias Muller was unable to direct his header on target and West Ham remained in the lead.
Nuno Espírito Santo opted to keep his side unchanged at the break as he looked to give more minutes to key players in their final pre-season outing. Magdeburg created the first chance of the second half less than a minute after the restart when Konstantinos Mavropanos was outmuscled by Mateusz Żukowski. The forward drove into the area before seeing his effort cannon back off the post, with West Ham surviving the early scare. Mateusz Żukowski had another chance as Magdeburg hit the Hammers on the counter but his shot went straight into the hands of Mads Hermansen.
The Polish forward thought he had drawn Magdeburg level moments later when he fired past Mads Hermansen, but the assistant referee's flag was raised for offside, ensuring West Ham's 1-0 lead remained intact.
There were injury concerns for West Ham midway through the second half, with both Jarrod Bowen and Keiber Lamadrid requiring treatment. While Bowen was able to continue, Lamadrid was unable to do so and was forced off.
With 20 minutes remaining, Nuno Espírito Santo made his first changes of the afternoon as Josh Ajala and George Earthy replaced Taty Castellanos and the injured Lamadrid.
Josh Ajala almost made an instant impact just moments after coming on. The youngster brought down a long, searching pass with an excellent first touch before opening up his body, but he could only guide his effort wide of the far post.
Magdeburg continued to grow into the contest and came close to finding an equaliser when Richmond Tachie worked himself a yard of space on the right-hand side of the penalty area. His low effort rolled agonisingly wide of the post, with West Ham breathing another sigh of relief.
Maxwell Cornet was introduced with 12 minutes remaining, this time operating as the central striker as he replaced Pablo.
Nuno Espírito Santo then made a final triple substitution in the closing stages, with Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters making way for Airidas Golambeckis, Ezra Mayers and El Hadji Malick Diouf, on his return from the World Cup.
Magdeburg finally found the equaliser in the final minute of normal time. West Ham failed to clear their lines, and the loose ball fell kindly to Falko Michel. The midfielder had the time to loo up before calmly firing first-time into the bottom corner, earning the German side a deserved late equaliser.
Player of the Match- Max Kilman
Having struggled to find form last year, and facing a lot of backlash Max Kilman has done very well this pre-season to get himself back into the frame. It was a composed performance for the centre back, who looked comfortable in possessions and provided a few key tackles.
Although unable to keep the clan sheet in tact, Max Kilman rounded off his performance by scoring the only West Ham goal with a great left footed volley into the bottom corner from a Lewis Orford corner. From looking like he was almost certain to be replaced this year to being one of the guaranteed starts going into the campaign,
What next for West Ham?
West Ham now turn their attention to the start of their competitive campaign, with Portsmouth visiting the London Stadium in the first round of the Carabao. Nuno Espirito Santo's s side then have just a week, before traveling to Turf Moor to face fellow relegated side Burnley, a fixture that could go a long way in setting the tone for the season ahead.
West Ham fans will be hoping to see some new arrivals through the door before the window closes. West ham are yet to announce their first signing of the summer, with concerns over squad depth in several key positions becoming increasingly apparent throughout pre-season.
