Brighton & Hove Albion U21s 0-2 West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Amex Elite Performance Centre, Friday 16 August 2024, 7pm BST
West Ham United U21s opened their Premier League 2 campaign with a well-earned victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Elite Performance Centre.
The young Hammers displayed resilience and composure, handling Brighton's high press effectively, maintaining possession, and creating quality chances while limiting their opponents' opportunities.
Sean Moore’s first-half strike from a West Ham corner set the Irons on their way. However, a second bookable offence for Junior Robinson with half-an-hour remaining set up a nervy finish for the U21s. Despite being down to ten men, West Ham stayed compact at the back and remained dangerous on the counter-attack.
Their disciplined defending paid off in stoppage time. After stealing possession on the edge of his own penalty box, Lewis Orford set Emeka Adiele free with a precise pass. Adiele outpaced Brighton’s centre-backs and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, calmly slotting home to seal all three points with his first Premier League 2 goal.
West Ham United U21s: Herrick, Robinson, Mayers, Akpata, Casey ©, Luizão, Moore (Battrum 64), Orford, Ajala (Adiele 77), Swyer, Scarles
Sub not used: Terry, Rigge, Dolaghan
Goals: Moore 20, Adiele 90+3
Booked: Robinson x2, Luizão, Casey
Robson: It was a proper performance!
Following a challenging pre-season, where many key players were with the first team in Florida, lead coach Mark Robson expressed his delight with the team’s display.
“It was a really good performance, a proper performance!” he exclaimed. “In possession and out of possession, I thought we were excellent. When we went down to ten men, there was still a long way to go. I thought the ten men were outstanding, and the finishers too, those who came on and finished the job off. They’ve really kicked on from the second-half performance against Brugge.”
Battrum: The togetherness is what got us through
One of those "finishers", Ryan Battrum, delivered an exceptional performance. Brought on just minutes before the team went down to ten men, the young full-back was tasked with containing Brighton’s overlapping wingers and preventing them from penetrating the penalty area.
Battrum repeatedly won back possession and launched counter-attacks, excelling in his half-hour stint on the pitch, despite the added responsibility in Robinson’s absence.
“Being one up is a tough scoreline,” Battrum remarked. “My instructions were to keep the game simple but try and make a difference. The aim was to keep pushing and threatening their goal while staying narrow defensively. The togetherness is what got us through the last part with ten men—not just the players on the pitch, but the coaches too. You could see what it meant to everyone when Emi [Adiele] went through to score, celebrating as a team. It’s a great first win for us.”
