Southampton U18s 4-2 West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South, Staplewood Training Ground, Tuesday 15 April 2025, 11.30am BST
West Ham United U18s fell to a 4-2 defeat on Tuesday afternoon despite a spirited performance against new Premier League South leaders Southampton.
In what was an incident-packed game, the young Saints soared into an early two-goal lead through Korban McMullan and Nick Oyekunle.
The young Hammers produced the necessary response when a well-taken goal by Joe Scanlon halved their deficit after 19 minutes, and Josh Landers - who has now scored against nine out of ten different opponents with the U18s - struck after 27 minutes to haul us level.
But, cruelly, Southampton restored their advantage against the run of play through Harry Gathercole on 73 minutes, and Oyekunle eased any nerves the hosts may have been feeling when he added a fourth from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time.
An early warning sign saw Sufiano Diagba force a fine fingertip save from Lanre Awesu when he looked to bend a shot into the far corner, but from the resultant corner, we fell behind.
Tommy Dobson-Ventura’s flick-on found McMullan lurking at the far post, where he stabbed home from close range.
The young Irons attempted to mount a response, but Southampton tightened up defensively after their opener, and they grabbed their second when Premier League South top scorer Oyekunle collected Thierry Rohart-Brown’s pass before firing a fierce effort into the far corner.
West Ham, though, conjured up an instant response when an intricate passing move put Riley Hargan in space on the edge of the box. The ball was fed to Scanlon after a surge forward by the left-back, and he charged into the box and fired a low, clinical shot into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-1.
It was the visitors now in the ascendancy, and the young Hammers maintained momentum by equalising eight minutes later through the in-form Landers.
A quickfire counter-attack saw Gabriel Caliste loft a dangerous cross into the area that Elisha Sowunmi flicked into the path of the onrushing Landers, who made no mistake from 12 yards, coolly beating Southampton keeper Oscar Abbotson to restore parity.
Surely the two teams couldn’t maintain that frantic pace for another 60 minutes? It looked like it when Rohart-Brown stung Awesu’s palms, and Diagba’s goal-bound effort was blocked by a last-ditch Harry Montague challenge, but the sides headed in on level terms at half-time.
The second half was almost the polar opposite of the first, as clear-cut chances were few and far between for both sides.
And it wasn't until the hour mark that either side had a sight of goal, as Diagba’s rasping drive was blocked by Aaron Kamara, before Abbotson was sharp off his line to thwart Landers - fed by a mis-timed Broghan Sewell pass - from close range at the other end.
Gathercole then skied his shot from a great position, having been picked out by Diagba, before a whipped cross from McMullan fell to substitute Oli Newman at the back post, but his downward header crashed off the post and the young Hammers eventually cleared.
But the sucker punch would follow four minutes later, however, and unfortunately for West Ham, there would be no such mis-step from Gathercole this time, who latched on to Newman’s threaded pass and slotted it home.
And in the seventh minute of injury time, Oyekunle put the finishing touches on Southampton's win when he converted from the penalty spot after being brought down by Montague.
Southampton U18s: Abbotson, Okunola (Adjei-Afriyie 90), Dobson-Ventura ©, Moore, Sewell (Goremusandu 75), Martin (Newman 65), Diagba, Rohart-Brown (Rodda 65), Oyekunle, McMullan, Gathercole
Sub not used: Richardson (GK)
Goals: McMullan 6, Oyekunle 14, 90+7, Gathercole 73
Booked: Okunola
West Ham United U18s: Awesu, Medine, Oyebade ©, Kamara, Scanlon (Halim 81), Montague, Hargan, Caliste (Beckford 65), Sowunmi (Balogun 79), Unwin (Chigwada 79), Landers
Sub not used: Nightingale (GK)
Goals: Scanlon 19, Landers 27
Booked: Sowunmi, Montague, Oyebade
Referee: Martin Bloor
Coggin: We showed a fantastic level of commitment and effort
West Ham United U18s boss Lauris Coggin felt their defeat away at Southampton was a learning curve, but was pleased with his side's level of commitment, endeavour and never-say-die attitude.
The young Hammers went toe-to-toe with the new U18 Premier League South table-toppers for the majority of the contest, and despite falling two goals behind, deservedly went into the break level after Joe Scanlon and Josh Landers cancelled out early strikes by Korban McMullan and Nick Oyekunle.
Coggin’s side had worked their way back into the contest before being punished by Harry Gathercole and Oyekunle - for a second time - as the Saints claimed the three points on the south coast.
“I thought for large parts of the game we showed a fantastic level of commitment and endeavour, and we understood the game plan,” said Coggin. “The learning moment for us was the third goal, where we allowed them space when we really don't need to and maybe got a little bit carried away and showed a little bit of naivety in that moment, and that’s what cost us the game.
“We have got ourselves back into the game and are looking like we could have nicked something in the end but let it slip away in a key moment.
“We never gave up and pushed again [after going two goals behind], and never knew we were beaten. We were able to push each other a little bit more as individuals and collectively, and it was fantastic.
“There are many positives [we can take into next week’s U18 Premier League Cup final against Reading].
“We've seen it all season, where the cup games, we turn up, perform to a fantastic level.
“We'll be ready for next Tuesday, and we're really looking forward to it.”
