West Ham United U18s 3-4 Brighton & Hove Albion U18s
U18 Premier League South, Little Heath, Saturday 1 April
Two very late goals saw West Ham United U18s fall to a heart-wrenching 4-3 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion U18s.
Just a point from Saturday’s fixture would have secured the U18 Premier League South title for the young Hammers, who took a first-half lead thanks to Callum Marshall’s deflected strike.
Gideon Kodua headed in early in the second half for the hosts but Brighton bit back with two quick finishes, courtesy of Bailey Smith and Remeiro Moulton, in a four-minute spell.
The home side thought the storybook win had been secured when Lewis Orford latched onto a Marshall pass to slot home on 87 minutes, but Brighton grabbed their third on 90+2 minutes through substitute Harry Lee’s well-taken finish.
Despite fighting to hold onto the point that would claim the league championship, West Ham would concede again in the final minute as Moulton added a fourth for the Seagulls, inflicting a third league defeat of the season on the U18s.
“We’re all disappointed,” U18s head coach Kevin Keen said. “But we’ve just reminded the players that no one is going to just hand you titles or medals. Football doesn’t work like that.
“I thought we were okay today. We weren’t particularly great but, as we have done all season, we were able to score some goals. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t hang on.”
It was the visitors who started brightest at Little Heath with Ronnie Gorman testing Mason Terry with an early, curling strike.
The Irons almost took the lead in bizarre circumstances when goalkeeper Tommy Reid punched a Kodua ball onto his own cross-bar, before Lewis Orford pulled a shot wide from the edge of the area.
The hosts grabbed the advantage on 21 minutes as Marshall fired a powerful effort towards goal. It took a deflection off an outstretched Brighton defender’s leg, looped over the goalkeeper’s outstretched arm and into the net.
Captain Kodua forced a good save from Reid moments later with a well-taken effort, while Hammers shot-stopper Terry was forced into a clever, instinctive save from a Seagulls corner moments before half-time.
Terry was called upon again to stop Moulton, just five minutes into the second half, from a looping header, before Marshall went close only to drag his effort wide.
A quick breakaway caught Brighton unaware just before the hour mark. Superb work from Orford saw a cross come in and Kodua was in the right place to find the net with a stooping header, to the delight of the home side.
The jubilation of a two-goal advantage was quickly transformed into nervous energy as the Seagulls hit back in quick fashion.
First, Smith was on hand to turn in a first goal for Brighton at the second attempt following a superb Terry save to deny Moulton. Just minutes later, Moulton himself got on the score-sheet, adding a second for the visitors with ten minutes to play.
The Irons looked to regroup, knowing only a point was needed to wrap up the league title on Saturday. Sensational play down the left on 87 minutes from the hosts led to a cross from Marshall. Midfielder Orford was in the right place to strike home an excellent effort, giving the Hammers a 3-2 lead with just minutes left to play.
Once again though, Brighton hit back. A corner floated to the back post fell kindly for substitute Lee, who sweetly struck into the near, uncovered side to once against restore parity.
With just minutes left on the clock, West Ham were clinging to the draw, but Brighton had one more punch to land. It was the dangerous Moulton again, this time scrambling in from close-range after a break up the field by the visitors.
What was hoped to be a joyous celebration turned into bitter disappointment for the Hammers. The coronation was put on hold following a frustrating loss.
Keen admitted Saturday’s opponents deserved plaudits for their drive to take something from the game, despite finding themselves trailing for large portions.
“I thought Brighton were fantastic today,” the U18s head coach continued. “Full credit to them. They played some fantastic football and they kept going until the end. Because of that, they’ve ended up nicking it, and that’s youth football. We have to say well done to them. They had a couple of really outstanding players.
“We knew the situation we were in, and Brighton knew too. They didn’t want to come here and see us clinch a league title. They wanted to fight to stop that, which they did throughout the whole game.
“Lots of things go into a game and sometimes maybe it just comes down to a bit of luck. At time this season we’ve occasionally had some luck, but maybe that ran out a bit in this game.”
A quick turnaround for West Ham will see the U18s next face Southampton in the FA Youth Cup semi-finals on Thursday, in a tie being hosted at London Stadium.
“I’m hoping we can use a bit of the disappointment from Saturday’s game going into Thursday now,” Keen added. “We need to learn a few lessons about how to finish games off when it’s a bit tight.
“We’re in on Sunday and throughout the week, and we’ll do our training in order to be ready for Thursday. Hopefully we’ll come out on the right side of the result, as we have done most times this season.”
West Ham United U18s: Terry; Battrum, Briggs, Tarima, Mayers, Jones (Adiele 88), Orford, Scarles, Uwandji (Fearon 63), Kodua © (Fawunmi 74), Marshall
Subs not used: Abraham, Kelly
Goals: Marshall 21, Kodua 58, Orford 87,
Yellow Cards: Briggs, Orford,
Brighton & Hove Albion U18s: Reid ©, Tasker, Mills (Lee 46), Penman, Ryan, Owusu, Bashir (Howell 65), Gulzar, Gorman (West 90), Moulton, Smith
Subs not used: Mansell
Goals: Smith 75, Moulton 79, 90+4, Lee 90+2
Yellow Cards: Howell, Owusu
Referee: James Keane
