West Ham U21’s secured top spot in Group 9 of the Papa John’s Trophy (EFL Cup) with a 0-1 win away to Portsmouth at the Fratton Park on Tuesday night.
This was a massive win for the Hammers as the youth were able to beat a strong seventh place League One side in Pompey, who featured a number of first team players in their lineup.
A Promising Start
The Hammers got off to the perfect start five minutes into the match as Kai Corbett grabbed his second goal in the EFL Cup, after a wonderful cross on the left-hand side from Emmanuel Longelo to make it 0-1.
West Ham continued to attack as ten minutes later, in-form forward Oladapo Afolayan played a low cross into Corbett. He took a touch in the box, looking to get a shot away, but the Portsmouth defender got a boot on the ball to block the attempt.
In the 19th minute, Portsmouth got their first shot away as winger Eoin Teggart whipped the ball in from the left side to Harry Kavanagh who headed it straight into the hands of Hammers keeper Nathan Trott, who made his debut this season.
Resilient Irons
The hosts continued to push for an equaliser with two minutes until half time as Pompey forward Jordi Hiwula showed some great footwork leading up to his shot which was saved by Trott. The first half ended 0-1 to the Hammers in a very even affair, as both teams contended to control the game.
The Hammers pushed for a second goal nine minutes into the 2nd half, with Afolayan shooting across the face of the goal and was unfortunate not to have a team-mate get a touch on the ball and send it home.
Even though Portsmouth dominated the possession in the 2nd half, their best chance was in the 84th minute when Bryn Morris had a crack from 25 yards out however, his shot went well over the bar.
Just four minutes later, Corbett was unlucky not to seal the deal as he received a pass from Alfie Lewis and dribbled the ball towards the goal however, his shot rattled against the crossbar.
This result was huge for the Hammers as they top the group and are the first team to beat Portsmouth in the competition since 9 January 2018.
Halajko Reflects
West Ham head coach Dmitri Halajko was pleased with the way in which his side defended adding after the game:
“The most pleasing thing about today was we had a really clean game, gave them limited chances and that gives us a good platform to then go and get a result. We were very pleased with what we were out of possession today”.
Both sides still don’t know who they are to face in the next round, with some group games still left to play. Hammers U23 and U18 face Leicester and West Brom respectively next weekend, while Portsmouth’s senior side travel to Plymouth on Monday.
