Two goals from Jack Werndly were not enough to prevent West Ham United from falling to a 4-2 FA Premier Academy League defeat at Southampton on Saturday.
Werndly and Danny Subuola both missed early chances before the Hammers fell a goal behind from a corner early. Werndly made amends by striking the equaliser following good movement down the left flank from Matthias Fanimo.
The home side then took advantage of hesitant defending from centre-backs Callum McNaughton and Paco Craig to go into the half-time interval a goal to the good, before striking again shortly after the break to go 3-1 up.
Werndly gave Tony Carr's side hope before Southampton made sure of the three points with the final kick of the game to complete a disappointing day on the south coast.
The Under-18s complete their league campaign with a home fixture with Charlton Athletic on Friday, with kick-off at Little Heath at 12noon. Admission and parking are both free of charge.
Full post-match reaction from Academy Director Carr will appear on whufc.com early next week.
West Ham United U18s: Cowler, Modelski, McNaughton, Craig, Potts, Subuola (Hall 60), Moncur, Hurley (Wearen 56), Fanimo (Tombides 85), Werndly, Montano