West Ham United Under-18s 0-1 Fulham Under-18s
A tight derby contest saw West Ham United undone by a second-half goal in the opening match of the new Under-18 season.
Michael Uwezu scored the only goal for the visitors midway through the second half at Little Heath on 18 August to take all three points back to west London. The home side had their moments, notably when Jack Collison, who continued his fine pre-season form, saw an effort rebound off the post.
Tony Carr's team started well and created several chances. However, despite penning in the visitors for much of the first half it remained at 0-0 at half-time. After the break, West Ham United again had most of the opportunities to go ahead, not least when Ben Hunt thought he had scored only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
Freddie Sears saw a chance parried by the Fulham keeper and before Collison went close with that effort against the woodwork. Anthony Edgar got away well on the left but just could not lift it over the keeper and several other chances followed, all scrambled off the line by Fulham. It was ultimately a counterattack that saw Uwezu score for Fulham and resulted in the visitors taking home the points.
Youth academy director Tony Carr was not too downhearted after the 18 August defeat, seeing plenty of positives for the campaign to come. He said: "We were very unlucky to be honest; it was only our lack of clinical finishing in front of goal that cost us. We had most of the play and chances but it was simply one of those days when the ball would not cross over the line for us."
West Ham United: Street, O'Neill, Miller, 'Gala, Blackwell, Stanislas, Collison, Harvey, Edgar, Hunt, Sears
Subs not used: Payne, Lee, Fry, Ashman, Kearns