Keenan Appiah-Forson is optimistic West Ham United U23s can use their thrilling win over Leeds United as a platform to a strong end to the 2021/22 campaign.
The Hammers put the Peacocks to the sword with a 5-1 victory in the Premier League Cup round of 16 on Monday as two goals from Armstrong Okoflex, as well as finishes from Dan Chesters, Sonny Perkins and Manny Longelo, cancelled out the away side’s early opener.
Appiah-Forson was thrilled to be involved in such a strong showing from the development team and recognised that a big performance was needed after a frustrating outing against Blackburn Rovers last Friday.
“It was an impressive performance,” the midfielder told whufc.com. “We needed to bounce back from the game against Blackburn, where we weren’t at it. But I think you could see the reaction from the boys.
“We didn’t want to let the game slip and we just had to do our hard work and stay focused. We got the third goal early in the second and we were able to keep going from there.
“Hopefully this provides us with a good platform to finish the season strongly.”
The 20-year-old has operated in a slightly deeper midfield role in recent games and put in a fantastic effort in the No4 role versus Leeds, controlling the tempo of the game for the Hammers.
“The gaffer was very complimentary about my performance and hopefully I can keep that going until the end of the season,” he continued. “I want to produce more performances like that.
“It was easier against Leeds if I’m honest. I just tried to keep the ball moving and did a lot of the running, and I wanted to do the simple things well.
“I’ll give credit to Kamarai and Dan though because they were working with me and listening to me when I was giving them instructions. I think we played well in midfield.”
Up next for the Irons in the Premier League Cup is a home clash with Fulham in the quarter-finals. The Cottagers sit top of Premier League 2 Division 2 by a clear 20 points.
Forson knows Fulham will be a difficult test for the Hammers and is looking forward to the last eight clash.
“We’re confident in ourselves. We’re just going to keep going, take it game-by-game, and see what we can do. We want to look out for each other and keep getting results.”
