The West Ham U23’s won their first match since early January against Leicester City, as they faced the foxes at Rush Green on Friday night in the PL2.
As West Ham sat rock bottom, they were desperate for the three points, and are now four points below Leicester with a game in hand.
The Foxes started on the front foot, however West Ham’s defence kept their opportunities limited. In the 27th minute, Hammer’s keeper Joseph Anang made a fantastic save as Kasey McAteer had a header which was saved.
11 minutes later, the Irons had another chance as Jamal Baptiste set up a shot for Ukrainian international Andriy Yarmolenko, who’s shot hit the post, deflecting to captain Conor Coventry who had an unsuccessful attempt on goal.
Two minutes later the Hammers took an opportunity to take the lead as midfielder Freddie Potts headed the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
A Tight-Fought Contest
Unfortunately for Dmitri Halajko’s side, Leicester City equalised not long afterwards, as Kasey McAteer volleyed home a loose ball from close range. Just three minutes later, the Irons were close to re-establishing their lead as Ademipo Odubeko fed the ball to Emmanuel Longelo, however his shot was saved by Leicester’s keeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
The Hammers performed well in the first half as they had many chances to take the lead however, it was a big blow to concede a goal just before the break.
In the 60th minute the Irons took the lead once again, as Keenan Forson grabbed his third goal of the season after latching onto rebound of Stolarczyk’s save to slot it home.
A short while later, the Hammers doubled their lead with the Foxes failing to clear their keepers save – Coventry was at the right place at the right time and grabbed his 4th goal of the season.
In the 76th minute, Leicester forward Will Russ was close to getting a quick goal back for the foxes, however Anang made another fantastic save to prevent a comeback. A minute into injury time, Longelo crossed the ball to Nathan Holland who’s shot went just past the post.
The Manager’s View
Despite West Ham manager Dmitri Halajko saying that in the first half Leicester City were the better team in some spells, he was impressed with the second-half performance and believed that his side were the stronger side.
While speaking to West Ham’s internal media team, Halajko also said, “I thought we passed the ball better and had more of a threat. We pressed from a higher starting position. We were the dominant team in the second half. Our quality in the final third made the difference. We finished off probably 50 per cent of our chances. We still could be more clinical, but we certainly were more clinical than we have been in other game.”
The Irons boss added that Anang made a crucial save to secure the win and was also impressed with the performances of Freddie Potts and Jamal Baptiste.
The Hammers look ahead to hosting Chelsea on April 2 at Rush Green, meanwhile Leicester City face Spurs on April 12.
Click here to read the full story from West Ham, including quotes from Dmitri Halajko.
