1. U18s playing development football with the U21s
Supporters who follow the U21s closely will have recognised a number of familiar faces in Tuesday’s Premier League Cup final, with at least five players who have featured regularly for the U21s stepping back in to help the U18s secure silverware.
Since the beginning of the season, Ezra Mayers, Josh Ajala and Emeka Adiele have all made the jump to Mark Robson’s development squad, who are now preparing for their own shot at knockout glory in the Premier League 2 play-offs. Mayers has started all but one of the U21s’ league matches, while Ajala, even as a second-year scholar, has been the team’s top goalscorer. Adiele, meanwhile, has racked up 13 direct goal contributions from left wing-back across both squads.
At the turn of the year, first-year scholar Airidas Golambeckis and U18s captain Preston Fearon also earned their place in the U21s group, although Fearon sadly missed Tuesday’s final through injury.
On the night, Mayers set up the opener and Ajala netted twice to bring his tally to seven goals in just four Premier League Cup appearances. A huge marker of the quality and development of this young Hammers group, and a glimpse of what’s still to come.
2. 28 teams, just one unbeaten
While the development programme at youth level largely pits teams against regional opponents, the Premier League Cup brings North and South together, and with it, brand new challenges.
Lauris Coggin’s side had to battle past unfamiliar opponents, and some really strong northern academies on their way to the final, including Nottingham Forest, Everton, Derby County and Manchester United, the defending champions who were unbeaten all season until they ran into the young Hammers.
Their success sees West Ham United join a select group of clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, to have lifted the U18 Premier League Cup since the competition’s inception in 2018.
3. Rising to the big occasion
For every single one of our young Hammers, Tuesday’s final was the biggest stage they have played on so far in their careers.
Over 2,000 fans were in attendance at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, with thousands more tuned into the live stream to watch our U18s make some West Ham United history by becoming the first U18s age group to win the competition.
Although most of the 2,027-strong crowd were backing the hosts, Coggin’s side refused to let Carter Bowdery’s excellent equaliser dampen their spirits, retaking the lead with ten minutes to go and ultimately holding on to their lead to secure silverware.
4. Success built on everyone’s shoulders
A look back across the campaign shows just how many players had a hand in the young Hammers’ success.
In total, 20 players featured for West Ham United in the Premier League Cup run, including several U16s schoolboys who stepped up to contribute when called upon.
Margins being so thin, with only the first-placed teams from each group and just a single runner-up advancing, every game was must-win, even in the group stages, and every single one of the 20 players stepped up to help deliver Premier League Cup glory.
It was fitting, then, to see at full-time, staff and players alike, joining together in the celebrations after the final whistle.
A true squad effort, and a night they will all never forget.
