AFTER another great night of FA Youth Cup action at Upton Park,
which saw Hammers win through to the quarter-finals with a 3-2
victory over Leyton Orient, goalscores Moses Ashikodi and Tony
Stokes could not hide their delight.
Tony Carr's team went behind with less than a minute on the
clock, but a fine finish from Ashikodi, who also scored in the last
round against Blackburn, drew the Hammers level.
He said: "Obviously I'm delighted to get another goal, but
it was a really tough game and Leyton Orient deserve a lot of
credit for the way they played.
"They gave us a run for our money in the second-half and we
needed a bit of luck to get through.
"After going 1-0 down so early on it was important for us to
get back on level terms as quickly as possible. I'm not sure
how good my goal was, but it was really important because if we
hadn't equalised quickly the outcome could have been very
different."
West Ham United are at home to Southampton in the next round, but
the game holds no fear for Moses, even though the Saints are widely
regarded as one of the favourites to win the competition.
"It's going to be another very tough game against
Southampton," he agreed, "but we have to believe in
ourselves and have faith in our ability. Southampton are a good
team, but if we play like we did in the second-half against
Blackburn and the first-half against Leyton Orient then we'll
have a chance.
"It was great to see so many fans turn out at Upton Park for
the Orient game. It was a bit of a local derby and it was really
good for the players to perform in front of a noisy crowd.
Hopefully, there'll be another good turnout for the
quarter-final."
Striker turned midfielder Tony Stokes bagged Hammers third goal
late in the first-half and was one of the best players on the
pitch, his non-stop running and neat passing proving a constant
irritation for Orient.
He said: "Going behind so early to a deflected free-kick was a
big blow and the lads did really well to regroup after that. I
couldn't believe it when we went behind, but Mo scored a good
goal to get us back in it and we started to play some really good
football after that.
"Of course, I was delighted to score again. I managed to
out-jump their goalkeeper from a corner, and when my first effort
game back off the crossbar I just reacted, got in another header
and was just so happy when it went in.
"I was back in midfield again tonight and it seems to be going
well for me there. I've scored three goals in three games from
the midfield and I like it as long as I see plenty of the ball.
"Having played a lot up front as well helps when you find
yourself in the final third of the pitch and it also gives me a
good idea of what the forward players are looking for from a
midfielder."
Whatever position he is chosen to play in for the next round
against Southampton, Tony is certainly looking forward to the
quarter-final tie at Upton Park.
"It'll be a great game against Southampton," he
agreed. "We played really well in the first-half tonight, but
they came back at us in the second-half and made it difficult.
"We'll certainly have to raise our game a bit from the
second-half when we take on Southampton, but it'll be a great
test for us and everyone will be looking forward to it."
Youths On Target
17th February 2005