West Ham United U18s 5-0 Leicester City
U18s Premier League South, Saturday 2 December, 12:00 noon GMT
West Ham United U18s continued their impressive start to the season with a dominant 5-0 victory against Leicester City on Saturday.
The young Hammers were on red-hot form despite the bitter conditions and saw Jerry Umolu and Liam Jones put Kevin Keen's side two goals ahead.
Two further goals in eight minutes at the start of the second half saw Umolu score his first hat-trick of the season, before Tyron Akpata’s late strike rounded off a superb day for the U18s.
Finlay Herrick was the first goalkeeper to be called into action, but the West Ham shot stopper passed his first test superbly, reacting quickly to deny Reece Evans from close range.
His save allowed the Hammers took the lead though Umolu after fourteen minutes. Ezra Mayers’ clever cross found the No9 in space and the striker finished superbly after bringing the ball down on his chest.
Jones then doubled the hosts’ lead midway through the first half. The left-wing-back's long range strike had too much power for the Foxes' goalkeeper Harry French, who was unable to keep the ball out of the net.
The visitors looked to respond after the break and almost halved the deficit through Yassin Toure who nodded a header wide before forcing Herrick into a near post save just minutes later.
At the other end, there were chances too. Favour Fawunmi saw his powerful effort rebound off the crossbar and Elisha Sowanmi forced the keeper into an impressive stop before Umolu nodded the ball into the net on the rebound.
And Umolu would secure the match ball just after the hour mark. The No9 powerfully ran down the line before cutting in and curling the ball into the bottom left corner.
Akpata rounded off a five star performance at the death, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner, leaving French with no chance.
West Ham United U18s starting XI: Herrick, Nwosu, Golambeckis (Oyebade 57), Mayers, Jones, Medine, Akpata, Caliste, Fawunmi (Dike 73), Sowanmi (Uwandji 73), Umolu (Ajala 73)
Goals: Umolu 14, 53, 61, Jones 27, Akpata 90+1
Booked: Golambeckis, Akpata, Jones
Coggin delighted with all round performance
West Ham United U18 assistant coach Lauris Coggin was pleased with how the side started the match on the front foot.
Coggin was also keen to focus on the impressive depth of the young squad, with several key players absent for the commanding victory.
“It’s a really pleasing performance. We took a real control of the match after the first ten minutes and we scored goals at good times. Jerry got a hat-trick and he performed really well so we’re delighted for the whole group.
“We’re especially pleased for some of the boys who stepped into the team. We had three U16s in the squad today and they all showed their quality.
"The clean sheet was great and Fin Herrick made some important saves. It’s another good performance which helps us on our way to achieving what we’re trying to achieve.”
The U18s currently sit second in the U18 Premier League south division, having won six of their last eight league matches.
And Coggin is delighted with the momentum the Hammers are building ahead of the sides’ return to the FA Youth Cup next week.
He continued: “For us it was all about dealing with today first and foremost and we spoke about that before the match. We had players coming into the group and we wanted to go in with a real strong mindset.
“We had a willingness to win today, the players put their bodies on the line and they showed quality with the ball. We’ll look to go again and we’re really looking forward to Friday night against Southampton.”
Umolu pleased with momentum ahead of Youth Cup
Jerry Umolu was delighted with the young Hammers dominant display in a 5-0 victory against Leicester.
The striker suggested that the victory demonstrates the quality of the current U18s squad.
“We’re really pleased with that,” Umolu smiled. “We’ve picked up a few injuries recently in the squad but we stuck together today and I’m delighted to have grabbed my first hat-trick of the season.
“I couldn’t have scored the three goals today without the support of my teammates and everybody put a great shift in today. We’ve got a big game coming up in the Youth Cup but we knew we wanted to win today and we’ve picked up another big win.”
The attention now turns to Friday night’s FA Youth Cup third round tie against Southampton and Umolu is pleased with the young Hammers momentum heading into the match.
“We’ve got big games coming up and there’s good momentum for me individually and also for the team. It was great for me to get three goals today and that has only boosted my confidence.
“We’ve got five goals today and kept a clean sheet. Southampton are a top side so we know that we’ll have to be at our best if we want to win. We’ve got the opportunity to go to the top of the league in our next league match too so there’s lots of big games coming up.”
Up next…
West Ham United U18s host Southampton in the FA Youth Cup on Friday 8 December.
The match will kick-off at 7pm at Rush Green Stadium.