Young West Ham star Reece Oxford tells Holly Davies that conditions did not do his side any favours.
In their last league game of the season, West Ham United U21’s lost 2-3 away to Aston Villa.
West Ham fell behind twice in the game and showed strength to equalize both times – but Terry Westley’s side lost after a late blow as Aston Villa denied them a point when the hosts stuck in the winner on the 88th minute.
Speaking to Rising East, captain Reece Oxford expressed his disappointment but acknowledges the effort the team has put in this season.
Tank
Oxford said: “After coming back into the game we thought we had enough to see the game out. Villa are a good side who have been above us all season and we just didn’t have enough in the tank.”
The game looked like it might be called off as weather conditions continued to get worse throughout the game, but the referee decided to complete the match as scheduled.
Struggled
“The weather was an issue for us,” said Oxford, “as we like to play out from the back and dominate the passing game, but the ball was getting stuck in the water and we struggled to find rhythm”, Oxford said.
This was only the second loss in 10 games for the young Hammers, and Oxford, who has captained the team throughout the season, understands how hard the team has worked.
“Having the winning streak continue for so long gave us great confidence and gave some of the boys the opportunity to be a part of the first team. Although we would like to make it into the play offs, we have to set our minds to the cup final and end the season on a high.”
The first leg of West Ham U21’s league cup final against Hull City will take place at the Boleyn Ground on Monday the 25th of April, kick off 7pm.