West Bromwich Albion U18s 2-0 West Ham United U18s
Saturday 28 October, U18 Premier League South Division, WBA Training Ground, 12.30pm BST
Lauris Coggin has challenged West Ham United U18s to bounce back as their five-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
The young Hammers fell to a 2-0 defeat at West Brom’s training ground, with Divine Onyemachi and Eseosa Sule on the scoresheet for the hosts.
Coggin, assistant coach to Kevin Keen for the U18s, was quickly focused on how the Hammers can get back to winning ways when they play Reading on Saturday 11 November.
He reflected on the match in the Midlands and wants this talented group of players to attack the next week on the training ground to return to their early season form next time out!
On Saturday, West Brom gave us the game we were expecting.
There were a really good side and were very comfortable without the ball. We had several chances to score in the first half, which we didn’t capitalise on.
They defended their box really well and we struggled to break them down.
I think [that early goal] played into their hands and they were able to play to their strengths.
I thought Finn Herrick, in goal, was a real plus point.
The defensive performance was really good, even though their two goals came from errors. Otherwise, we were solid so the boys can take confidence from that! Next week, it is about focusing on ourselves as a group and our improvement and development, and also each player's individual development.
Going forwards, it was a real positive was how many chances were created.
To the boy’s credit, we created chances in the second half but unfortunately, it just did not look like the goal was going to come yesterday. The were a lot of entries into the final third, which was pleasing to see. I thought Favour Fawunmi looked dominant in 1v1 situations too, but it was just one of those days where we couldn’t take our opportunities.
West Ham United U18s: Herrick, Battrum, Briggs, Mayers, Jones (Ajala 61), Akpata (Fearon 74), Caliste (Adeile 61), Uwandji (Sowunmi 61), Rigge, Fawunmi, Umolu
Subs not used: Abraham
