Report & Reaction | U21s secure third home win and clean sheet in a row with victory over Arsenal

West Ham United U21s 1-0 Arsenal U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 7 February 2025, 7pm GMT

West Ham United U21s secured their seventh win in eight games in all competitions with a 1-0 win in their all-London clash against Arsenal.

Their latest three-point haul is their third victory and clean sheet in a row at Rush Green Stadium and sees them move up to fourth in the Premier League 2 standings.

A goal straight out of half-time from captain Kaelan Casey proved to be enough to see off the young Gunners in a dominant display from Mark Robson's men.

Although Arsenal controlled the early possession, West Ham had the first real sight of goal when Fin Herrick launched a perfect ball over the top for Josh Ajala. The forward showed great strength to hold off his marker before firing a powerful effort on target, forcing Lucas Nygaard into the first save of the game.

The young Hammers continued to look threatening in transition. Sean Moore was next to try his luck, latching onto Akpata’s long pass before attempting to lob Nygaard from outside the box, only to see his effort drift over the crossbar.

At the other end, Ezra Mayers, Luizão and Kaelan Casey looked very solid at the heart of defence. Mayers made a crucial intervention to halt Khayon Edwards’ run before Casey followed suit, recovering well to cut out Salah Oulad M’Hand’s dangerous forward pass.

Arsenal were fortunate to go into the interval on level terms when Moore sent the best chance of the half over the crossbar, latching onto a brilliant low cross from Swyer at the far post.

After the break, the Hammers picked up where they left off. Another pinpoint corner delivery from Lewis Orford dropped for Casey who reacted quickest, poking home to give West Ham the lead just minutes into the second half. A perfect start to the second half. 

Casey pokes home to give us the lead ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/XCSkY3MOO8

— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 7, 2025

The young Hammers almost doubled their advantage immediately with Swyer bursting through midfield before finding Moore, who deftly chipped the onrushing goalkeeper, only for Will Sweet to clear his effort off the line.

The waves of West Ham pressure continued. Emeka Adiele disguised a clever pass into Swyer inside the penalty area, but the winger’s effort went just wide of Nygaard’s near post.

Arsenal reminded the hosts of their threat just before the hour mark when Salah Oulad M’Hand slipped a pass through to Osman Kamara, who tested Herrick’s reflexes as he made a sharp low save.

West Ham nearly capitalised on the counterattack from an Arsenal corner when Akpata released Orford. One-on-one against Nygaard, Orford attempted a chip, but unable to get enough loft on his effort, the Arsenal goalkeeper was able to make the save before the West Ham midfielder’s follow-up effort hit the side netting.

Orford continued to dictate play from midfield, picking out Adiele on the left wing. His perfectly weighted delivery found Moore in the box for another great opportunity to add to their advantage, but an awkward bounce denied him a clear chance to make clean contact.

The young Hammers remained resolute in the closing stages despite Arsenal pushing for an equaliser. After Luizão’s crucial touch on a dangerous cross denied Osman Kamara from a simple tap-in on 87 minutes, West Ham comfortably saw out the three points which sees them leapfrog Brighton & Hove Albion into fourth place in the Premier League 2 standings.

West Ham United U21s: Herrick, Briggs, Mayers, Akpata (Fearon 80), Casey ©, Luizão, Moore, Orford, Ajala (Rigge 70), Swyer, Adiele
Subs not used: Terry (GK), Brown, Golambeckis

Goal: Casey 49

Booked: Akpata

Arsenal U21s: Nygaard, Clarke, Washington (Harriman-Anous 79), Monlouis, Sweet, Gower, Ferdinand, I. Oulad M’Hand, Edwards, S. Oulad M’Hand ©, Kamara
Subs not used: Ismail, Ranson, Copley, Ibrahim

Robson: The boys defended fantastically well 

Now boasting the joint-best defensive record in the division following their third straight clean sheet at home, unsurprisingly lead coach Mark Robson was keen to reflect on his team’s defensive efforts.

“I thought Arsenal had moments where they controlled the game. There were big periods where we had to soak up the pressure, but I can’t recall them really hurting us. The boys defended fantastically well. Fin [Herrick] made some important saves, we got some good clearances, and it was a real solid defensive performance. The back three were very, very good again. It was good to give Kaelan [Casey] 90 minutes, and the same with Lewis Orford.

“As a team, we defended very well around our box. There were a couple of moments where they got out playing from the back, but Steve [Potts] addressed that at half-time. I thought we were much more solid in the second half and made it a lot harder for them.”

Having played a full 120 minutes in midweek in their Premier League Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United, Robson was pleased to give some of the U18s players further exposure to a more intense workload.

“I was able to rest a couple of the U18s after their 120-minute game on Tuesday, but I wanted some of them to play [Ezra Mayers, Emeka Adiele and Josh Ajala] because we want them to experience what that looks like. That’s part of their development, going out and playing in the football league on loan, that’s what you’re going to get, so you want to expose them to that. We’ll look after them over the weekend and get them ready for next Friday. Really pleased for those boys who got through another 90 minutes.”

There were also some individual performances Robson was keen to highlight, including centre-half Josh Briggs, who adapted well to being deployed at right wing-back, as well as attacking midfielder Dan Rigge who helped West Ham see out the three points off the bench.

“Josh played in a position that he hasn’t played in for a long time. He told me he’d played there when he was nine or ten! He had a real go at it, defended great, did his job, made some really good tackles, was competitive, and also got forward. I’m pleased for him because players have been doing exceptionally well, which has meant he’s had to bide his time and be patient. I thought he did really well tonight.

“Dan [Rigge], like Briggsy, has had to be patient for game time, but he really added to the team. There was a move right at the start of his spell on the pitch where, if we’d finished it off, it would’ve been one hell of a goal. He kept the ball well for us. Very neat and tidy in his play. I’m pleased to give him game time, and hopefully, in the next few encounters, he’ll get more.”

Up Next...

West Ham United U21s are at home again next Friday where they will host Blackburn Rovers as they look to continue their climb up the Premier League 2 standings.