West Ham United Under-18s suffered late disappointment as a 2-1 lead was overhauled by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Barclays U18 Premier League Tier One on Saturday.
Kieran Sadlier returned from a week with the Republic of Ireland Under-19s to score twice for Steve Potts' side, but Wolves finished strongly to take the result away from the visitors.
Despite the 3-2 final scoreline, Potts was pleased with the performance from the Hammers.
He said: "We went 1-0 and 2-1 up, and looked quite comfortable at that stage, but Wolves came on strongly to get the win. We played well though, and speaking to their coach afterwards, they had a team full of second years while we were the opposite.
"We had a 15-year-old goalkeeper with us, and plenty of first years, but we coped with the challenge really well. Physically we matched them and football-wise we played some good stuff.
"I'm disappointed to get nothing from the game but pleased with the performance because it deserved better than a defeat.
"We should have more points on the board, but with performances like this we'll get the results too."
Sadlier was the man on target with both Hammers goals, striking to twice give the visitors the lead and take his tally of league goals this season to eight.
West Ham held a 1-0 advantage at the break, but Wolves came back strongly to eventually send the Hammers home empty handed.
West Ham United: Howes, Alexander (Gogo), Page, Marlow, Onariase, Girdlestone, Mavila (Harney), Miles, Boakye-Yiadom (T.Tombides), Cullen, Sadlier