Coventry City U18s 1-3 West Ham United U18s
The Hammers made it five wins out of five with another tremendous awayday display at Coventry City on Saturday morning.
Nick Haycock's unbeaten young side took command against their in-form hosts in the first half, with Elliot Lee and Jack Powell finding the net. After the interval, Coventry went for broke to try and force their way back into the contest and won a hotly disputed penalty to give themselves hope in the closing stages.
However, Jake Larkins was in heroic form in goal and Lamarr Hurley bagged a third on the break to ensure the visitors headed back down the motorway in high spirits. Although the "commanding" Larkins was inspirational, the coach was keen to stress that his team had always held the upper hand on their hosts.
Haycock said: "It was a really good performance. We are waiting to trip up but we just keep getting the results. It will happen but we have to enjoy our form while we are where we are. We got three good goals and a good team performance. It is a recipe for success."
The Academy coach paid tribute to Sam Allardyce for letting the U18s prepare this week with a session matching up against the first team - an ideal opportunity for all to see what the youngsters are all about at first hand. "That really set us up well," Haycock added. "It helped us to cope with what we had to deal with from Coventry."
West Ham United: Larkins, Young, Chambers, Lee, Potts, Turgott, Powell, Hurley, Sadlier, Vose (Fanimo 70), E Lee
Subs unused: Cowler, Miles, Shaw
CHECK OUT SATURDAY'S MATCHDAY PROGRAMME FOR A FULL MATCH REPORT