Olatunji Akinola impressed against Fulham U21 during his first appearance under the lights
Central defender Olatunji Akinola is confident his side can bounce back from the 2-0 defeat to Fulham when the Dev Squad travel to play Brighton & Hove Albion next Monday.
The 16-year-old put in an assured performance against the Cottagers, in his first U21 appearance of the season – coincidentally against the same team he made his U21’s debut against last term.
Despite a promising showing from the young Hammers, it was the visitors who came away with the points: “The positives are the way we passed the ball around, we need to do that more consistently and switching the play often. We need to try and be a bit more creative because I know we are capable of beating anyone when we play to our best.
“Overall, it was a disappointing result especially as we played well in the first half. We must have dominated the game in terms of passes but we didn’t have enough creativity in the final third and we didn’t have many opportunities from the crosses we put in.”
Jordan Evans’ swirling free kick beat Raphael Spiegel from distance to break the deadlock before Dean O’Halloran rolled the ball home to double their advantage.
Grady Diangana came closest to scoring for the hosts, yet they could not find a way past Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak.
Akinola continued: “It’s disappointing to have conceded twice from only a few shots on goal. We felt pretty solid at the back, they didn’t have too much of a threat but they took the chances they did have.
“It’s my first U21 appearance of the season and it’s clearly a step up from the U18s who have been playing recently. I think I’ve coped with the step up well, on the ball I feel my distribution was good but I think I need to be more solid in the air against the older boys. Overall I think I did alright.”
While the result was disappointing, it was no doubt a special night for the highly rated academy prospect.
Reflecting on his Boleyn Ground bow, he said: “It’s my first game here at the Boleyn Ground so it was a good experience, I think tonight’s crowd was the biggest I’ve played in front of in my career.
“You’ve got to concentrate all the time because you’ve got a lot of people watching you; it’s also more realistic to what first team football is like.
“As for the rest of the season, the U18s are doing well at the moment so I hope that continues. Hopefully I’ll be ready whenever I’m called upon for the U21s and keep knocking on the door.”
The 16-year-old put in an assured performance against the Cottagers, in his first U21 appearance of the season – coincidentally against the same team he made his U21’s debut against last term.
Despite a promising showing from the young Hammers, it was the visitors who came away with the points: “The positives are the way we passed the ball around, we need to do that more consistently and switching the play often. We need to try and be a bit more creative because I know we are capable of beating anyone when we play to our best.
“Overall, it was a disappointing result especially as we played well in the first half. We must have dominated the game in terms of passes but we didn’t have enough creativity in the final third and we didn’t have many opportunities from the crosses we put in.”
Jordan Evans’ swirling free kick beat Raphael Spiegel from distance to break the deadlock before Dean O’Halloran rolled the ball home to double their advantage.
Grady Diangana came closest to scoring for the hosts, yet they could not find a way past Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak.
Akinola continued: “It’s disappointing to have conceded twice from only a few shots on goal. We felt pretty solid at the back, they didn’t have too much of a threat but they took the chances they did have.
“It’s my first U21 appearance of the season and it’s clearly a step up from the U18s who have been playing recently. I think I’ve coped with the step up well, on the ball I feel my distribution was good but I think I need to be more solid in the air against the older boys. Overall I think I did alright.”
While the result was disappointing, it was no doubt a special night for the highly rated academy prospect.
Reflecting on his Boleyn Ground bow, he said: “It’s my first game here at the Boleyn Ground so it was a good experience, I think tonight’s crowd was the biggest I’ve played in front of in my career.
“You’ve got to concentrate all the time because you’ve got a lot of people watching you; it’s also more realistic to what first team football is like.
“As for the rest of the season, the U18s are doing well at the moment so I hope that continues. Hopefully I’ll be ready whenever I’m called upon for the U21s and keep knocking on the door.”