Fulham U18s 0-1 West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South, Motspur Park Training Ground, Tuesday 18 February 2025, 6pm GMT
West Ham United U18s returned to winning ways and condemned Fulham to their first league defeat since November with a 1-0 victory at Motspur Park Training Ground. In a game Lauris Coggin’s side largely controlled, Riley Hargan’s strike just shy of the hour mark was enough to secure all three points.
The young Hammers started brightly, playing through Fulham’s press, ensuring most of the game was played in their opponents’ end of the field. They had their first real opportunity inside ten minutes. Hargan’s corner found Rayan Oyebade in the six-yard area, but his header was cleared off the line.
West Ham continued to probe, and a slick attacking move nearly resulted in the opener just moments later. Oyebade’s incisive forward ball split the Fulham midfield, allowing Josh Ajala to spin into space before being fouled. The referee played the advantage, and Hargan surged forward, feeding Jethro Medine on the right. Medine’s pull-back found Ajala, who struck first time but narrowly missed the target.
At the other end, the Hammers had to stay alert defensively. When a misjudged ball over the top threatened to put Tom Wingate through on goal, Oyebade recovered brilliantly to prevent the Fulham forward from going one-on-one with West Ham goalkeeper Fin Hooper.
West Ham’s composure in possession helped them dictate much of the first half, and they came close again just past the half-hour mark. Hargan played into Josh Landers, who showed great awareness to flick past his marker and thread a pass into Ajala’s path. The forward took a touch to set himself before firing low, only to see his effort drift inches wide of the far post. Ajala remained a constant threat and had another opportunity before the break. A perfectly weighted ball over the top from Preston Fearon found him in stride, but under pressure from Logan Cooke, his strike was deflected wide.
After a quiet start to the second half, West Ham found the breakthrough in the 59th minute. High pressing forced Fulham into a mistake near the corner flag, allowing Emeka Adiele to win back possession. His dangerous cross caused havoc in the box, and as Fulham struggled to clear, Hargan pounced. His effort took a deflection on its way through but found the net to give the Hammers a deserved lead.
Encouraged by the goal, West Ham pushed for a second. A well-worked move saw Elisha Sowunmi pick out Adiele on the left, and from a tight angle the winger forced Fulham goalkeeper Dino Kaiser into a sharp save.
Sowunmi came even closer in the 77th minute. After being fouled on the edge of the box, he lined up alongside Hargan for the free-kick, before curling a stunning effort that rattled the underside of the crossbar.
Fulham threatened late on, with their best chance coming from Wingate, who attempted a Paolo Di Canio-esque volley at the back post following a delivery from Ruban Khan. Hooper, largely untested throughout the game, literally sprung into action, reacting superbly to tip the strike on to the post.
A tense finale then unfolded as Adiele received a late red card, but despite Fulham’s efforts, West Ham stood firm to bounce back from their weekend defeat, claiming all three points and a clean sheet.
Fulham U18s: Kaiser, Walters, Picotto, Cooke, Slade ©, Schutter (Sutton-Bangura 65), Zepa, Chingwaro, Wingate, Batra (Cavell 73), Khan
Subs not used: Mayer (GK), Hall, Degale
West Ham United U18s: Hooper, Medine, Adiele, Golambeckis, Oyebade, Kamara, Hargan, Fearon © (Beckford 80), Ajala (Balogun 90+2), Sowunmi, Landers
Subs not used: Nightingale (GK), Ebho, Unwin
Goal: Hargan 59
Booked: Fearon, Sowunmi
Sent off: Adiele
Coggin: We need to celebrate the togetherness, endeavour and quality we showed today
Speaking at full-time, lead coach Lauris Coggin praised his side’s togetherness while highlighting a couple of players, in a squad full of great performances, for their match-winning contributions.
He said: “I think we need to celebrate the togetherness, endeavour and quality that we showed today. Obviously, I'm really pleased for Riley Hargan, who works relentlessly every single day, to put in a performance like he did today and get rewarded with the winning goal was fantastic.
"The formation tonight is something that the boys are comfortable with and have experienced before. They're capable of playing in multiple different shapes. Our principles remain the same. Obviously, introducing Josh Landers into the group allows us to have two natural number nines, which we utilise well. So, we're trying to stick to those strengths and they definitely did that today.”
While Hargan’s goal proved to be the difference, Coggin was keen to point out the contributions at the other end of the pitch, emphasising Fin Hooper’s role in making sure all the points came home to east London.
He added: “Fin's been a really important part of the group. His personality and character has grown over the season and the performance that he put in today is no more or less than we expect. I thought more importantly than the save was the three crosses that he came to claim in important moments. Those really took the sting out of the game and he managed things in a really professional way.”
Hargan: I was really pleased with how I played and proud of all the players too
Dictating play alongside captain Preston Fearon in midfield, Riley Hargan capped off an excellent display with his second goal of the season. Following a disappointing result at the weekend, Hargan reflected on the importance of bouncing back with a good performance.
He said: "I think it was really important to show our values. We put in a very good performance and bounced back really well. We worked hard in training all week, understood how they were going to play, and I think we affected it really well.
"Preston and I worked hard to pick out passes and play forward as much as possible, while also breaking up play when they were trying to get through. The goal topped it off and made the performance even better. I was really pleased with how I played and proud of all the players too.
“To get the goal was brilliant. It's something I’ve been working towards, and the results paid off today. I just came across, took a touch, composed myself, and finished it well."
He added: “Even when we went down to ten men, I felt that we were always going to hold on. I think the boys dug deep with the mentality we all have. We worked hard for all 90 minutes, plus stoppage time. The subs coming on were really beneficial, and everyone helped each other through.
"We were all buzzing after full-time. Music was blasting in the changing room. Everyone was delighted to get a clean sheet. I think all the players dug deep and should be really proud of each other."
Up Next...
West Ham United U18s will next take on Chelsea away at Cobham Training Ground on Saturday 22 February at 11am.