Holly Davies sees the young Hammers slip to defeat at home.
After securing their first win of the season last Monday against a modest Wolves side, The Hammers faced a harder challenge when Fulham came to visit.
Though the scoreline does not tell the whole story, the visitors proved too strong and beat Terry Westley’s side 2-0 thanks to goals by Jordan Evans and Dean O’Halloran.
The major positive for the home side was first-teamer Joey O’Brien returning from injury. He played the first 60 minutes before being substituted.
The first chance for West Ham came from an attempt by Marcus Browne whose shot from 25 yards went just over the Fulham goal.
Fulham struggled to get the ball out of their own half , penned in by good build up play and controlled possession from West Ham.
Against the run of play, Evans hammered a powerful free-kick past Raphael Spiegel to make it 1-0.
The home side pressed hard for an equalizer late in the first half, but a solid Marek Rodák in the Fulham goal denied Westley’s men.
Grady Diangana’s attempt from close range following a Lewis Page cross went just wide, with the 17-year-old unable to get enough contact with the ball.
Dominance
O’Brien’s attempt minutes later was denied by Rodák.
In the 53rd minute, O’Halloran beat the offside trap and calmly put the ball past Spiegel to make it 2-0, after another spell of Hammers dominance.
The tempo of the game slowed down after the second Fulham goal, but West Ham starlet Martin Samuelsen could have scored a consolation goal with five minutes to go.
He split the defence to work a one-on-one with the keeper but his shot went high over the bar.
The result was tough on the young Hammers side after they dominated the game for the most part but lacked the finishing quality when it counted.
Fulham did a professional job with solid defending, absorbing pressure and counter attacking when the chances came, and finishing with a purpose.
West Ham will hope to bounce back from this defeat away at Brighton and Hove Albion next week.