Arsenal Under-18s 1-0 West Ham United Under-18s
Tony Carr's Academy side went down by the narrowest of margins away to league leaders Arsenal on Saturday morning.
The Gunners just edged the London derby to move eight points clear at the top of Group A of the FA Premier Academy League standings. The only goal of the game came courtesy of home captain Jay Emmanuel-Thomas just before the interval at London Colney and there was to be no way back for Carr's young charges. The loss brought to an end a six-game unbeaten run dating back to 6 December.
Daniel Kearns and Balint Bajner had the best of the visitors' chances in the second half but Arsenal were always too strong. There were some real positives for Carr though, not least 16-year-old central defender Sergio Sanchez who has recently joined the club from Barcelona and he impressed alongside Callum McNaughton. Josh Payne also got a pre-planned 45 minutes to maintain his sharpness.
Several of the Hammers side could be in action again on Tuesday night when West Ham United welcome Tottenham Hotspur for a reserve outing at Bishop's Stortford. Also likely to be on view is winger Junior Stanislas, who travelled with the first team to Saturday's game at Bolton Wanderers but is cup-tied and therefore cannot figure against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth-round replay on Wednesday.
West Ham United: Street, Barrett, McNaughton, Sanchez, Fry (Driver 60), Kearns, Lee, Payne (Grasser 46), Edgar, Bajner, Abdulla (Subuola 80)
Sub not used: Loveday