Preseason Friendly Wrap: Anelka Hat-Trick, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel Goal and More

Several clubs have been continuing their preseason preparations ahead of the new campaign, with the likes of Premier League sides West Brom and Norwich City in action on Tuesday.

Little over a week remains before these sides begin competitive action for the 2013-14 season, so good performances are now becoming as important as fitness and bedding in new signings.

Here's all the latest on the friendlies played out midweek, including a hat-trick for Premier League stalwart Nicolas Anelka.

Cork City 0-6 West Brom

West Brom showed great consistency in front of goal to blitz Irish side Cork City by six goals to nil, with new free-transfer signing Nicolas Anelka hitting a hat-trick.

Shane Long was selected as captain as he returned to his homeland, and indeed his first club, but it was fellow striker Anelka who hit two first-half goals to put the Baggies in control. Graeme Dorrans netted a second-half brace, while Anelka completed his treble.

Long himself was the other scorer, as West Brom made light work of their opponents.

West Brom have barely strengthened their squad over the summer, with Anelka and fellow free-transfer signing Diego Lugano the only arrivals so far, and they now have just one friendly left before the start of the new season.

Steve Clarke's side lost consecutive games to Genoa and Telford prior to the trip to Ireland, so this win will have been well received by the Hawthorns club. They now play Bologna before starting their league season against Southampton.

Norwich City 1-1 Real Sociedad

Norwich City took on Real Sociedad at Carrow Road as the two clubs fought out a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

Summer signings Leroy Fer, Martin Olsson, Nathan Redmond and Ricky van Wolfswinkel all started for the Canaries, and it was the Dutch striker who scored his first goal in a Norwich shirt and opened the scoring in the game.

Chances were few and far between, though van Wolfswinkel might have added his second before the break without intervention from keeper Claudio Bravo, but Carlos Vela picked up the pace after halftime and, following a couple of near misses, scored the equaliser just after the hour mark.

Redmond proved a good outlet for Norwich and striker Gary Hooper came on for his City debut, but Sociedad's superior ability on the ball meant chances were hard to come by.

Norwich will now face Panathinaikos in their final friendly of the season on August 10 before starting their Premier League campaign at home to Everton one week later.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 Hull City

Hull City continued their less-than-impressive summer of preseason friendlies with a 2-0 defeat at German side Eintracht Braunschweig.

Having been promoted to the Premier League for this coming season, Hull's summer has been filled with fixtures against lower-league opposition, but they have managed just two wins, against Peterborough United and minnows North Ferriby United.

New signings Danny Graham and Maynor Figueroa both featured for the Tigers, but there was little to leave manager Steve Bruce optimistic ahead of the new season from this game, as goals from Orhan Ademi and Gianluca Korte easily overturned the English team.

Hull's first match is away to Chelsea on August 18, and based on the evidence of this summer, they still require further reinforcements to add to their eight signings so far if they are to be competitive in the top flight.

SC Braga 1-0 West Ham United

West Ham United suffered defeat in Portugal at the hands of Sporting Braga, losing 1-0 in the second match of their Torneio do Guadiana and enjoying another bizarre penalty shoot-out at the end of the game.

Whereas the Hammers beat Sporting on Monday by 3-2—before drawing a shootout 4-4—their opponents on Tuesday won the game courtesy of a 63rd-minute goal from Rafa. The penalties that followed yielded a 3-1 win for the English club.

A scrappy game saw chances fall infrequently inside the two penalty boxes, which is perhaps not surprising given some of the players from the Premier League team were playing their second match in 24 hours.

Indeed, Mo Diame's speculative effort from halfway was the first real attempt on goal from West Ham—after 71 minutes.

New goalkeeper Adrian saved two of Braga's penalties after the 90 minutes were up, but West Ham lost the chance to win the preseason tournament with defeat in the game. They now face Pacos de Ferreira before starting their league campaign at home to Cardiff City on August 17.

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