Mark Robson was delighted with the fight, resolve and determination shown by West Ham United U21s in their 1-0 Premier League 2 win over Fulham.
Divin Mubama’s first-half finish – his tenth of the season at development side level – earned the U21s a hard-fought three points against the Cottagers on Friday evening at Rush Green Stadium; a fifth win in the side’s last six league outings.
In a game of few clear-cut opportunities on goal, West Ham’s defence stood strong to keep the visitors out, with Fulham’s only real chance coming as George Okkas struck the woodwork early on.
Lead coach Robson admitted Fulham were the better team in the second half, controlling possession, but was pleased with how his young side stood up to the challenge and were not afraid to fight for every ball.
Having played Fulham on the opening day of the season, losing 3-1, Robson can see just how far the development team have come in just a few short months…
We had a very good first half.
It was a game of two halves and in the first half I felt we had the lions’ share of the ball and we scored at the right time. To get that goal was great, but in the second half Fulham were really good and they dominated possession. We defended there out for most of the game but, I have to say, we defended very well.
I thought, to be fair, we held on in the second half. We’ve had a couple of games like that but tonight we’ve done it really well. The boys were resolute, and Krisztian Hegyi was, again, very good in goal for us. We’ve held on. The second half was a scrap for us, and we scrapped well and got a deserved three points.
The work ethic from the players has been brilliant. That’s not just in the last few games but throughout the season, and there is a real desire in the group to keep on winning, so we’re really pleased.
We said at half-time that we had done really well, but it was just our end product that was lacking.
By that I mean, once we got in positions to get in behind we were just lacking that final ball or we just made the wrong decision. There were not many chances but the one, big chance we have, Divin scores it. The boy is on fire at the moment. He keeps finding the net and long may that continue for us.
In the second half, even though Fulham had the possession, I wouldn’t say they had any clear-cut chances to hurt us except for the one right at the end from the set-piece. We defended really well here and we took the win.
It was Fulham away in the first game of the season and we can see how far this team has come in the last few months.
Looking back, it was a different team from the one we played in this match. Perhaps some more experienced players in a more experienced side, and now we’re a lot younger. But the younger ones have come into this team and done exceptionally well. Not only are they doing well with the U18s, but they’re also doing well with us too.
On top of that, when they’ve had opportunities to train with the first team, they’ve done well there as well. We’re so happy at the moment with how things are going, and there’s a clear pathway for the boys between the U18s and U21s. Everyone knows, if they keep playing well, they will get the opportunity.
We’ve now won five of our last six league games, which is absolutely excellent.
Even the one we lost, against Manchester United, we were two goals up in and we’re still disappointed we lost in. But in terms of what we’ve asked for from the players, we knew we needed a few wins to climb the table and we’ve been getting those.
It’s not even that we’ve not been confident throughout the season, but these results help that and it gives you more momentum, more energy and a great desire to make sure you keep winning. The boys have been training brilliantly, working hard, and long may that continue.
