West Ham United U23s lead coach Dmitri Halajko was full of praise for his side’s performance in their outstanding 6-0 win over Manchester United U23s on Saturday.
The young Hammers were the dominant team from the very opening exchanges, taking the lead through Armstrong Okoflex’s penalty – won and scored by the left winger – in just the fifth minute.
They built from there, going in at half-time three goals to the good thanks to a Jamal Baptiste header from Harrison Ashby’s own-goal, and an Okoflex cross which deflected in off a Manchester United U23s defender.
The second half proved much the same in terms of momentum, with Okoflex winning and scoring another penalty inside the first two minutes, before further late strikes from Sonny Perkins and Thierry Nevers completed the rout with Alvaro Fernandez shown a straight red card for the visitors.
The stunning 6-0 win moves West Ham back up to second in the Premier League 2 Division 1 table, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, and now just one point behind reigning champions Manchester City U23s.
Halajko told West Ham TV: “It was a perfect day really. A result like that and a performance like that, against a club like Manchester United, and that moves us second in the league, one point off the top…
“A couple of the lads were on the bench for the first team in midweek and they came back and played well today, so those are the kind of days you want. It was a perfect day for all involved – Academy players and staff have done a great job.”
The young Hammers scored at least three goals in a game for the fourth consecutive fixture on Saturday, and as a result moved ahead of Arsenal U23s on goal difference, back up into second place.
That the goals have come from a variety of sources was all the more pleasing for Halajko and his staff.
He continued: “Going forwards today we were devastating from all areas – not only from all of our front three, but also backed up by our full-backs, who got assists as well. The midfielders were comfortable on the ball and building things for us.
“Going forwards, we looked as if we could score every time we did and that’s not easy. We made it look easy, but we were playing against a good team and it takes lots of hard work from the players to be able to get to that level. We’re seeing some of the benefits of that hard work.
“That’s how we like to play. We want to be an attacking team – a team that goes forward and plays exciting, attacking football. When it comes off, it’s brilliant to watch and brilliant to be part of.
“The last few weeks we’ve had days like that where it’s been clicking, we’ve been on a good run, and it’s been an absolute joy.”
Halajko was also full of praise for his team’s collective performance, highlighting how impressively the U18s within his starting XI have made themselves at home at U23s level.
He smiled: “I think to have three youth teamers on the pitch as well, who didn’t look like youth team players, was another impressive aspect.
“All the individual performances were top-drawer – I couldn’t single out any one – but to have three youth teamers in Sonny, Jamal and Freddie [Potts] play so well, I think that’s another aspect that makes the result even more pleasing today.”
At the end of a proud week for all associated with the Academy of Football – 19-year-old Dan Chesters made his first-team debut in the UEFA Europa League win over Genk on Thursday, and the U18s thrashed Aston Villa 5-0 on Saturday morning – Halajko was delighted to reflect on West Ham’s promising future.
He noted: “Dan deserves it. He’s been in really good form this year. His work rate is phenomenal and he’s starting to affect each game more and more.
“He’s such a threat at the moment and I wasn’t surprised that the first-team manager put him on, because that shows how well he’s doing.
“He’s going to continue to get better, and I think the others will continue to get better – hopefully there are more debuts and minutes in the first-team picture for them, because I think there’s some real talent in our team who can make that next step.
“Hopefully, that’ll happen for them soon.”