Academy

Preview | Young Hammers travel to Derby for U18 Premier League Cup semi-finals

3rd March 2025

Derby County U18s v West Ham United U18s
U18s Premier League Cup semi-final, Moor Farm Training Centre, Wednesday 5 March 2025, 12noon GMT

West Ham United U18s travel to Moor Farm Training Centre to face Derby County in our first ever Premier League Cup semi-final on Wednesday afternoon.

The Irons will be seeking a place in the final of the competition for the first time and will need to overcome a Rams side currently sitting third in Premier League North.

Lauris Coggin’s young Hammers secured their place in the knockout stages as one of seven group winners, with victories over Nottingham Forest and Southampton as well as a draw at Everton. In the quarter-finals, they earned their place in the last four with a dramatic win over defending champions Manchester United on penalties after a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes.

Should Tuesday's tie end level after 90 minutes, half-an-hour of extra-time will be played. If we remain level after 120 minutes, we'll go to penalties again!

How To Follow…

The game will be blogged live, while a live stream of the fixture will be available across the Club’s website and YouTube channel. A match report, highlights and reaction will also follow the full-time whistle.

Opposition…

Coached by former Port Vale and Southend United midfielder Danny Maye, Derby County U18s also qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners, with wins over Brighton & Hove Albion and National League North leaders Manchester City, and beat Fulham 4-0 in the last eight to set up a semi-final tie against the Hammers.

The last squad of young Rams to reach this stage of the competition was the 2018/19 generation who fell to Middlesbrough in extra-time. That year, Derby beat Liverpool on goal difference to win Premier League North before facing Arsenal in the National Final, where Bukayo Saka’s brace wasn’t enough to deny Derby from being crowned champions.

On course for their best league finish since that season, the current crop of Derby County U18s have one of the best goalscoring records in the country, with 73 goals in just 22 games in all competition this season.

Ones To Watch...

With plenty of U21s experience under his belt this season, Josh Ajala has netted eleven times across West Ham United’s U21s and U18s sides. The second-year scholar is in a strong run of form, on the scoresheet in four of his last five appearances for Mark Robson’s development side. His finishing ability was on full display in the U18s’ last win, a 3-1 victory over Southampton in their third and final Premier League Cup group game in which Ajala bagged a brace.

Teammate Preston Fearon has also been a key figure this season for both the U18s and U21s. Making his debut for Mark Robson’s development side in a Premier League International Cup game against SL Benfica B, Fearon has since started the last six games for the development squad, five of which have been victories. Captain at U18s level, the 18-year-old has excelled under lead coach Lauris Coggin, with nine assists in eleven appearances, five of which have come in this competition.

West Ham United coaches will need no introduction to Derby County's leading scorer Charles Ebuka Agbawodikeizu, as he spent a period with the Academy of Football before joining the Rams on a scholarship in the summer of 2024. The forward has bagged 14 goals in just nine U18 Premier League appearances, including a four-goal haul at Leeds United in October, and hat-tricks against Stoke City in August and Middlesbrough just a fortnight ago.

He will not pose Derby's only attacking threat, though, as Justin Oguntolu has also been in superb form this season, scoring eight goals in 17 U18 Premier League fixtures, while he also scored four in the Rams' 6-5 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in Derby's opening match in this competition.

Attacking midfielder Owen Eames has been with Derby since Under-9s and signed his scholarship in the summer of 2023. A regular for the U18s last season, Eames has nine goals and five assists in 14 U18 Premier League games, and was also on target twice in the Rams' 4-0 win over Fulham in the quarter-finals.