West Ham United U18s 1-3 Reading U18s
U18 Premier League South, Little Heath, Saturday 12 April 2025, 11am BST
West Ham United suffered a frustrating 3-1 U18 Premier League South defeat by Reading at Little Heath on Saturday afternoon, despite enjoying long spells of dominance and creating a host of chances.
The game began at a frantic pace, and it was the visitors who struck first, opening the scoring inside the first three minutes.
A ball in behind the Irons' defence from T’Shay St Louis was squared across the face of goal, where Kallum Fuller-Thompson was on hand to tuck home from close range.
Undeterred by the early setback, the young Hammers responded with attacking intent. Just minutes later, a determined Majid Balogun drove forward down the right. From the resulting delivery, Josh Landers found himself unmarked at the far post with the goal at his mercy, but the forward fired over the crossbar.
Landers did not take long to make amends. In the 29th minute, a superb deep cross from Riley Hargan picked out the West Ham No9, who made no mistake this time, steering a brilliant header low into the corner to draw the Hammers level and notch yet another goal in an impressive run of form.
Just ten minutes later, Landers nearly doubled his tally when he fired against the crossbar.
The home side continued to dictate the pace and control possession, but it was Reading who struck a cruel blow just before the interval. Pressing high, Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith capitalised on a rare mistake in possession, nicking the ball and squaring for Fuller-Thompson to grab his second of the match.
The Hammers came flying out of the blocks in the second half and almost equalised within 30 seconds of the restart. Elisha Sowunmi surged down the right and forced a strong save from the Reading goalkeeper at the near post.
Lead Coach Lauris Coggin looked to inject fresh energy just after the hour mark, introducing Gabriel Caliste and Andre Dike in place of Balogun and David Chigwada. But just three minutes after entering the fray, Dike was shown a red card, leaving West Ham to see out the remainder of the game with ten men.
Further changes saw full-backs Vinnie Perkins and Joe Scanlon replaced by Jonathan Unwin and Lewis Beckford, as the Hammers continued to pile forward in search of an equaliser.
Despite being a man down, West Ham maintained the pressure, pushing Reading deeper into their own half. But the Irons were hit with a sucker punch just two minutes before the end of the 90. Against the run of play, Reading launched a swift counter-attack, and substitute Larry Omoregie slotted past Lanre Awesu to seal the visitors' win.
There was more late drama as Chinaza Nwosu, having been booked for a foul 30 seconds prior, received a second yellow for dissent and was dismissed in stoppage time, reducing the Hammers to nine.
It was a harsh result for a West Ham side that showed attacking intent throughout. Despite the loss, Coggin’s team will take plenty of positives from a performance that deserved more.
Coggin: The quality is there
Saturday’s match marked the final Premier League South home fixture before the U18 Premier League Cup final, where the Hammers will be looking for vengeance over the same opponents, Reading, but this time with silverware on the line.
Buoyed by a brave performance and the quality they showed in spells throughout this contest, the young Irons will look to use Saturday’s experience as fuel to go one better when it matters most. The stage is set for a thrilling showdown and Coggin’s side will be ready.
Coggin said: "We were in control for large parts but made things difficult for ourselves. Even with the red card early in the second half I thought we were on top but lacked that extra intensity in the final third. It hurts now, but there are still plenty of positives heading into the cup final. The quality is there, we just need to show it when it matters most."
Landers: We'll regroup for the cup final
Goalscorer Landers shared his coach’s take on Saturday’s game, and the upcoming rematch with the Royals.
The Scottish striker said: "We started strong and dominated the first half, the red card early in the second half made things tough, but there were still positives to take. I was frustrated not to take a couple more chances, especially the one off the bar as I expect better from myself in those moments. But we’ll regroup, and I’m confident going into the cup final that it’ll be a completely different game."
West Ham United U18s: Awesu, Perkins (Unwin 74), Scanlon (Beckford 74), Kamara, Oyebade ©, Nwosu, Balogun (Dike 61), Hargan, Landers, Sowunmi, Chigwada (Caliste 61)
Sub not used: Hooper (GK)
Goal: Landers 29
Sent-off: Dike, Nwosu
Reading U18s: Welland, Zie, St Louis, Dove (Kaninda 90), Neptune, Irish, Bowdery, Howard, Fuller-Thompson (Jones 61), Nour (Omoregie 61), Coke-Miles-Smith (Booth 71)
Sub not used: Borgnis (GK)
Goals: Fuller-Thompson 3, 44, Omoregie 88
