Tottenham Hotspur U18s 2-4 West Ham United U18s
Saturday 16 December, U18 Premier League South Division, Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre, 11am GMT
West Ham United U18s concluded 2023 with a memorable 4-2 win over U18 Premier League South Division leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
The Irons showed great character to respond to a first-half strike from Callum Olusesi as four goals in the second 45 minutes took a huge three points.
Elisha Sowunmi found the net from close range to start the comeback, before Liam Jones struck with his first touch to make it 2-1.
Spurs would draw level thanks to Damola Ajayi, although the Hammers struck twice more to move within touching distance of the leaders.
Another substitute Jerry Umolu found Sowunmi after a stunning pass forward from Dan Rigge set the Hammers’ attack in motion.
A late bit of chaos from an in-swinging Jones corner saw Mehmet Halim head home from close range to cap his return to action in style and secure a deserved victory.
The young Hammers picked up their seventh win in ten league games and move two points behind Spurs, with a game in hand.
West Ham United U18s: Herrick, Medine, Briggs, Golambeckis, Mayers, Oyebade (Jones 66), Caliste (Hargan 88), Akpata (c), Sowunmi (Halim 88), Rigge, Ajala (Umolu 76)
Subs not used: Abraham (GK)
Goals: Sowunmi 47 79 Jones 66 Halim 89
Booked: Briggs, Mayers, Akpata
Jones: It’s such a special feeling to win at Spurs
Liam Jones is West Ham through and through.
The son of former West Ham United striker Steve Jones made an instant impact as a second-half substitute and scored with his first touch in North London. Not bad, eh!
“Every West Ham fans knows how important this is,” he enthused. “To come away to Spurs and score, assist, and win the game is a great feeling.
“It was great to do it with my first touch. It was a big chance with my first involvement on the pitch, so I had to put it away.”
As a West Ham fan, there is arguably no better game for the youngster to find the net.
His goal – and an assist – saw the battle of the top two in the U18 Premier League South Division fall the way of the Irons, with Jones delighted to end 2023 on a high.
He added: “From the boys that started, the boys on the bench, or the boys that are injured but travelled with us, there was a massive togetherness again.
“I think we showed that towards the end to nick the two goals and win the game [from 2-2]. We went for it as a team and scoring and assisting is a great feeling for me.”
Kevin Keen praises growth of U18s as 2023 finishes in style
Trips to North London have started and concluded the first part of this U18s campaign.
A difficult defeat away to Arsenal on opening day saw the U18s learn and grow from the experience.
Since then, they have pushed on to now sit second in the league, with a game to play on leaders Tottenham Hotspur. They have also reached the latter stages of the Premier League Cup and the FA Youth Cup fourth round.
That progress has been pretty remarkable for a young side – only three second-year-scholars were in the starting XI on Saturday. And so, the lead coach was delighted with the performance to beat their London rivals.
Keen stated: “It is a great way to finish the year because it was a fantastic performance.
“It was a really good to come back from 1-0 down and then go again when it was at 2-2. We just kept going and there were some really good individual performances, and it’s a nice one to finish the year on.
On the young players stepping up to U18s, the lead coach added: “We trust the players whatever age they are. They can play whatever level they are good enough for and that has been a West Ham philosophy for a long, long time.
“I think we showed today a real energy, excitement and enthusiasm to play for West Ham which is good to see!”
