West Ham romp past Perth after Rice’s exit confirmed

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – JUNE 07: Declan Rice of West Ham United kisses the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy after the team’s victory during the UEFA Europa Conference League 2022/23 final match between ACF Fiorentina and West Ham United FC at Eden Arena on June 07, 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

West Ham moved on from the departure of captain Declan Rice Saturday with a 6-2 pre-season friendly victory over Perth Glory at Optus Stadium.

Having earlier in the day confirmed Rice’s drawn-out exit, West Ham showed slick forward passing in front of 24,723 fans.

A superb performance from goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski helped the Hammers overcome several lapses in their second game since last month’s Europa Conference League triumph.

West Ham, who finished 14th in last season’s English Premier League, will wrap up their brief Australian tour against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday in Perth.

With several star players absent, a youthful West Ham hit the scoreboard in the second minute after a low cross from Dan Chesters diverted into the leg of Glory defender Darryl Lachman.

After a sluggish start, Glory began to penetrate a scrambling West Ham defence only to be denied by Fabianski on multiple occasions.

West Ham made Glory rue those missed chances when Pablo Fornals was brought down in the box by Johnny Koutroumbis, who received a yellow card.

Striker Gianluca Scamacca, who has been linked with a move to Roma, easily dispatched the penalty to give West Ham an early stranglehold.

But Glory dictated down the right wing and were finally rewarded moments before half-time through an own goal from defender Luizao.

West Ham coach David Moyes rang the changes and it paid dividends when star Jarrod Bowen