The Hammers U23’s started 2021 with two defeats and a crucial win over relegation rivals Southampton 3-1.
Despite the victory over Southampton, the Hammers went on to lose away in embarrassing fashion to Brighton, 6-1, which was by far their worst performance of the season – a far from ideal preparation for their fixture against Blackburn.
The Irons headed into the Rovers match as underdogs, as the hosts sat only three points below table toppers Manchester City. West Ham were hoping for at least a point as they sat rock bottom with only eight points in 13 matches.
A Fast Start
The hosts started off on the front foot, five minutes into the 1st half Rovers’ Isaac Whitehall headed the balls toward goal, forcing a quick but comfortable save by ‘keeper Joseph Anang.
Just 12 minutes later, the Hammers got their first opportunity, as Nathan Holland dribbled towards the goal and unleashed an effort, however Rovers ‘keeper Antonis Stergiakis’ legs blocked the shot.
Irons midfielder Kai Corbett picked up the rebound and tried playing in striker Sean Adarkwa, but the pass was cleared by the Rovers defence.
Debatable Decisions
In the 23rd minute, Blackburn were awarded a controversial penalty as the Scottish forward Connor McBride took on Daniel Chesters and went over in the box, the West Ham players weren’t happy about the decision.
The decision stood and McBride sent Anang the wrong way and grabbed his ninth goal of the season to give the hosts the lead.
In response, The Hammers began to control possession and were creating chances, but with no end product.
One minute into stoppage time the Irons were very close to making it 1-1, however Holland’s shot was saved by the Greek U21 international Stergiakis, tipping it over the bar.
Despite West Ham having more opportunities in the first half, Stergiakis kept the hosts in the lead.
Just three minutes into the second half, Blackburn doubled their lead as Luke Brennan crossed the ball for McBride, who was completely open to tap it in and grabbed his second goal of the night.
Halving The Host’s Advantage
West Ham managed to get a goal back in the 59th minute after Jamal Baptiste blocked the Rovers clearance and passed to Keenan Forson as his shot was deflected off the Rovers defender’s boots to make it 2-1 to the hosts.
The next period of the game saw the Irons pushing to draw level however, Blackburn doubled their one goal lead for the 2nd time in the match through Joe Nolan, who dribbled past his man on the left flank and smashed it home with Hammers midfielder Emmanuel Longelo getting the decisive touch to put the ball past his own keeper, forcing an own goal.
The game was put to bed in the 87th minute as Rovers’ Luke Brennan scored his second goal of the season after a deflected cross found him unmarked in the area for him to slot home.
Post-Match Positivity
Following the game in an interview with West Ham’s media channel, head coach Dmitri Halajko stated that the players needed to use the frustration of losing in the right way to go again on Friday’s home match against Derby County. He added:
“They are disappointed now, and rightly so – they should be – but then come the next training session on Sunday we’ll see what the motivation is like in the group to turn it around”.
Halajko stated that his side were the better team in the 1st half and added:
“That was our spell. We were dominant and should have capitalised that and come in at half-time in a winning position. We didn’t, and in the second half our performance was unacceptable”.
The Irons now have just two wins in their last 17 games in all competitions, a stark contrast to their unbeatable form last season. With games against Derby, Manchester City and Liverpool on the horizon, the east London side will be working towards more positive results to turn their torrid season around.
Link to original interview with Dmitri Halajko – https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2021/february/19-february/dmitri-halajko-u23s-actions-will-speak-louder-words
