West Ham United U21s 3-2 Chelsea U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 27 September 2024, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Chelsea at Rush Green Stadium, moving to the top of the Premier League 2 table. The win sees the Hammers leapfrog Arsenal, having been tied on points before kick-off.
Despite Chelsea controlling most of the possession, West Ham's clinical counter-attacking with a brace from Emeka Adiele and a second-half strike from Sean Moore proved decisive.
The match kicked off at a brisk pace, with Chelsea almost immediately taking the lead when Tyrique George beat the offside trap and found himself one-on-one against Fin Herrick, but his effort sailed well over the bar.
Moments later, West Ham made the Blues pay for that miss. Adiele capitalised on Chelsea's high defensive line, racing onto a perfectly weighted ball over the top from Ezra Mayers. After outpacing his marker, Adiele confidently finished past oncoming goalkeeper Max Merrick to give West Ham the lead in the fifth minute.
Chelsea responded with pressure of their own but struggled to break down a resolute West Ham defence. Despite controlling possession, the Blues were unable to convert their chances in the opening exchanges.
Midway through the first half, West Ham doubled their lead. Once again, Adiele exposed the space behind Chelsea's left flank. Tyron Akpata played a well-timed ball to release the wing-back, and Adiele repeated his earlier feat, lifting the ball over Merrick for his second goal of the game.
The Hammers could have put the match beyond reach before the break, but Kamarai Swyer one-on-one effort was denied by Chelsea goalkeeper Max Merrick. On the stroke of half-time, Chelsea took advantage of that let-off as Donnel McNeilly headed in from a Harvey Vale corner to give the visitors a lifeline going into the break.
West Ham came out strongly in the second half and quickly restored their two-goal cushion. Sean Moore was sent through on goal by Lewis Orford, and the winger made no mistake, cutting inside onto his favoured left foot before slotting it past Merrick to make it 3-1.
The Hammers had further chances to extend their lead, with Ollie Scarles and Orford both going close. Chelsea, however, continued to probe and found a late goal through captain Vale in the 87th minute. With Scarles down injured, Chelsea exploited their temporary numerical advantage, and Vale coolly found the far corner from inside the box to set up a nervy finale.
Despite sustained pressure and ten minutes of stoppage time, West Ham held firm, seeing out the game to secure their fifth straight Premier League 2 win continuing their 100 per cent record.
West Ham United U21s: Herrick, Casey © (Tarima 45), Luizão, Mayers, Battrum, Akpata, Orford, Adiele, Moore (Ajala 64), Scarles (Rigge 90), Swyer
Goals: Adiele (5, 34), Moore (48)
Booked: Ajala, Battrum
Robson: “We knew we could catch them out on the counter”
After a hard-fought victory that sees his side climb to the top of the Premier League 2 standings, lead coach Mark Robson praised his players’ resilience and tactical discipline. While acknowledging it was not a perfect performance, Robson was quick to highlight the team’s adaptability and ability to capitalise on Chelsea’s defensive vulnerabilities.
“I didn’t think they had many chances,” he reflected. “Although we could’ve been one down before Emeka’s [Adiele] first, we also could’ve been three up! I said to them at the end of the game, although we haven’t played fantastically well, we scrapped. We had to work really hard against a good team. It was a different game for us tonight. A team that tried to maintain possession, full of really good individuals. But we knew that we’d be able to open them up on the counter attack. We had noticed that they didn’t track runners and that’s where we punished.
"Credit to Emeka, because he’s made two great runs and it’s one of the things we’ve been saying to him, exploit that pace. He did it brilliantly and took his goals fantastically well. Also great credit to Ezra [Mayers] and Tyron [Akpata] who found him, their balls in behind the defence were right on the money."
Commenting on the team's effort, Robson continued: “It was a really hard-working display and from a defensive perspective, it was a big learning curve. The boys dug right in. It wasn’t the perfect game, but sometimes you have to adapt. We always try to stick to your principles, organisation, and discipline, but when you face a team that likes to control possession, you need to adjust your approach and I thought we did that really well. I don’t recall Fin Herrick having much to do in the second half. It was pretty routine, they didn’t really hurt us, and we always knew we could catch them out on the counter attack.”
Moore: “I was going into the season hopeful, but I didn’t think it would be this good!”
On the scoresheet for the third time this season, Sean Moore reflected on an incredible start to the campaign for the U21s and how his confidence continues to grow through his team’s five-game winning streak in the league.
“It’s a fairly new squad, a lot of players from last season have gone out on loan, so there’s been some adjustments. I was going into the season hopeful, but I didn’t think it would be this good! Five out of five is an unbelievable start, and it’s all about kicking on from here.
“Confidence is a big thing for me, so to be on the scoresheet is massive. I’m taking it game by game and getting great guidance from the coaches. It’s great to keep the goals coming and hopefully some assists too!”