The West Ham U21’s travel to the Weston Homes Stadium tonight, to face Peterborough in the second Round of the EFL Trophy.
The U21’s are undefeated in this competition, beating the likes of Portsmouth and Colchester and only conceding one goal in three matches. Peterborough meanwhile have won two and lost.
Hammers manager Steve Potts is looking forward to the test and states that he only cares about the win, as he spoke to the club’s media channel prior to the game:
“They’ve got to understand that it’s not all about pretty football all the time. We’ve played some good stuff in previous games, but have sometimes been punished for not making it count.”
Top Performers
Despite only having two appearances in the Premier League 2 and one in the EFL Trophy, Nathan Trott has been key part in the Irons’ recent success, with a clean sheet against Portsmouth and Manchester United’s U23’s.
As Trott played 22 matches for AFC Wimbledon in League One last year, he is one of the most experienced members of this Hammers side.
Another Hammers player to look out for is Kai Corbett, who scored a key goal against Portsmouth to top the group. The winger has scored three goals in six matches for the U18’s and has broken into the U23’s this season with three appearances.
West Ham will be looking to Ademipo Odubeko for goals, as he scored twice in the U21’s first match against Southend United.
Odubeko has also been on fire for the U18’s, as he has scored seven times in six appearances this term. Steve Potts sees this match as a good indicator of where the Iron players are at, and added:
“We thought this spell of games would be a real good test for the players and where they are. We were at Leicester at the King Power Stadium recently and they had a few senior players playing there, which was a big test for everyone. [The 2-0 win] against Manchester United was obviously a really tough game for all of the lads, but we came through it. Now, we’ve got Peterborough away – which is a big game – and then we play Everton and Man City away before Christmas, so all-in-all, it’s a really good test for the boys.”
Turning Things Around
A win for the Hammers would add more wind to the sails as they look to turn their season around, after their difficult start to life in the PL2. The opportunity to play in a different competition will be exciting for the players, as they have the chance to pick up some momentum before they face Everton when the league games return.
