- West Ham United PL2 left it late to beat Norwich City 2-0 at Carrow Road
- Toni Martinez and Marcus Browne scored the goals
- Westley was happy with the way his players battled for the three points
Terry Westley admitted his side weren’t at their best against Norwich City, but was delighted with the way they grinded out the three points at Carrow Road.
West Ham United PL2 left it late against the Canaries but managed to break the deadlock after Toni Martinez scored a rebound after his initial penalty was saved.
Marcus Browne made sure of the points in stoppage time after a delicate cut back by Noha Sylvestre to ensure the Hammers travelled back to London with the three points.
“I don’t think we were at our best tonight but we managed to grind it out in the end,” said Westley.
“I think we were more powerful than them, created more opportunities and in the end, albeit in the dying minutes, got a deserved win.
“Early on, we had the momentum. We had one or two opportunities but we weren’t as sharp as what we have been.”
There were four changes overall to the side which drew with Wolverhampton Wanderers over a week ago, as Alex Pike, Tunji Akinola, Grady Diangana and Jaanai Gordon came into Westley’s starting eleven.
There were also places on the bench for Dan Kemp and Alfie Lewis, who came on with twenty minutes to play and made an impact.
Kemp was fouled for the penalty and Westley was full of praise for his two young substitutes.
“The two changes gave us a little bit of what we hadn’t had. We didn’t move the ball around quick enough but those two came on and suddenly stretched the game,” Westley added.
“The game subsequently opened up and we got the winning goals.”
Westley was full of admiration for the way his side adapted to the physical nature of the match at Carrow Road.
Norwich had two men sent off; Louis Ramsay was sent for an early bath after two bookings and then substitute Toby Syme was given his marching orders for the foul on Kemp which lead to the penalty.
“It’s what you tend to do as coach when you play a team that isn’t as good as you are. You say “one-on-one, let’s match them” and that’s a complement to our team.
“The pitch was excellent tonight but I felt we should have passed and moved it a bit more. Overall though, we’re very happy with our start and long may it continue.”