Dev Squad edged out by Norwich

West Ham United's U21s lost away to Norwich City 1-0 as Jamie Eaton-Collins scored the only goal of the game late into the second half.

The Hammers faced an uphill struggle when defender Lewis Page was sent off after only 15 minutes. Page was dismissed when the referee deemed the defender to have been the last man after fouling Jamar Loza on the edge of the box.

Shortly after the dismissal, the Hammers' task was made even harder when captain Kieran Bywater suffered concussion from a collision at a corner and was replaced by Matthias Fanimo.

West Ham reacted to going a man down by adapting to a 5-3-1 formation which restricted the Canaries to only a few chances.

However, as the first half wore on, Norwich started to enjoy more possession as they forced Hammers goalkeeper Sam Howes into two excellent saves.

Into the second half and the Hammers continued their impressive work rate as they contained Norwich who were growing increasingly frustrated.

The Hammers had a handful of chances to open scoring, starting with a fantastic turn and run by Sebastian Lletget who fed Jaanai Gordon. Unfortunately for the Hammers, Gordon's cross was just too high for Kieran Sadlier to connect to at the back post.

Sadlier had another good chance to open the scoring after being played in by Lletget, yet his finish was parried by Canaries' goalkeeper Ben Killip.

The hosts eventually made use of the lion's share of possession when substitute Jamie Eaton-Collins converted a drilled cross from the right-wing, giving Howes no chance of saving the shot.

The goal deflated the Hammers who had run themselves into the ground trying to preserve a valuable point.

The Dev Squad's next game is against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday 19 November at the Boleyn Ground.