Crystal Palace 3-4 West Ham United U19s
Next Generation Cup, Tottenham Hotspur Academy, Wednesday 27 July
West Ham United U19s produced a jaw-dropping comeback to secure a place in the Next Generation Cup finals, battling from a three-goal deficit to secure a 4-3 win over Crystal Palace
The young Hammers were in trouble at half time, trailing three goals to nil, and it looked inevitable that the Eagles would progress to the final of the competition.
However, the Irons displayed their brilliance at both ends of the pitch in the second half, with Jacob Knightbridge making some incredible saves, before a series of well worked goals to change the outcome at the Tottenham Hotspur Academy Ground.
Callum Marshall continued his impressive preseason with a second half hat-trick, whilst Daniel Rigge scored with his first touch after coming on.
Assistant coach Gerard Prenderville was full of praise for his side’s mentality after the impressive turnaround, but was also keen to point out that there was a lot to learn after a disappointing first half.
Speaking to whufc.com, he said: “It’s an interesting one to evaluate. We’ve only just got this group together because they’ve been split over two sites, some have been with the U18s, others have been with the U21s, so everyone has been on different tours.
“This U19s group consists of first year professionals and some scholars so this is the first time we have had this group together. It was obviously a poor first half and we were really disappointed at half time.
“We made a couple of changes and to be fair to the lads they stuck to the task. At half time we made some adjustments to the shape and told them to go out and win the second half, and to their credit they went on to do a whole lot more than that!
“The group showed exactly what they’re all about in the second half, it was a demonstration of why we had so much success last year. We looked to play forward, create chances and then to win the game from 3-0 down is a credit to the players.”
The young Hammers looked to have survived a testing opening 20 minutes, but the Eagles continued to push, and they took the lead in the 22nd minute.
The goal came courtesy of a dangerous out swinging corner and after a scramble in the box, the ball fell kindly for Adler Nascimento who was able to direct the ball into the net from close range.
Just moments later, Crystal Palace doubled their lead through Junior Dixon. The striker was found in the box after some good play down the right flank, and the No9 cleverly chipped the ball over Knightbridge.
The Hammers fate looked to have been sealed in the 30th minute as Crystal Palace scored their third of the match. Maliq Cadogan was on hand at the back post to volley the ball past Knightbridge.
The Irons registered their first meaningful attacking just before half time, as Marshall won the ball on the edge of the penalty area and slid the ball across to George Earthy. The midfielder was able to register a shot on target, but a deflection had taken the venom off of the strike and was therefore a comfortable save for the Crystal Palace shot-stopper.
The Irons responded immediately after half time, with a tactical change in shape looking to be paying dividends. Earthy found space inside the 18-yard box and picked out Marshall who was on hand to smash the ball into the near post, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
Despite an impressive response, Knightbridge was called on to make two fantastic saves to keep his side in the game. On both occasions the No1 was able to tip venomous strikes past the post.
These saves proved to be vital as Marshall secured his brace in the 64th minute. Lewis Orford’s deep free kick was cleared, but only as far as the Northern Irish striker, who stuck the ball into the bottom right corner, after his initial volley was blocked. The comeback looked to be on.
The Hammers found their equaliser from another set piece. This time it was Rigge with the goal. Orford’s delivery was superb once again, and Kaelan Casey rose highest to nod the ball onto Rigge. The young midfielder, who signed a scholarship with the club in June, poked the ball into the net with his first touch since coming on seconds earlier.
The comeback was complete with ten minutes remaining. Orford’s in-swinging corner located Marshall who was unmarked at the front post and the striker nodded the ball into the net to secure his hat trick, and West Ham’s place in the final of the Next Generation Cup.
Prenderville was full of praise for Knightbridge after a superb display.
“He was absolutely brilliant,” Prenderville smiled. “I never normally single players out in the team talk but I had to here. At 3-0 and 3-1 he made a few top, top saves to keep us in it.
“He’s a brilliant goalkeeper and he did his job for the team. I think that was the case for everyone in the second half, our defenders dealt with their No9 a lot better, we passed a lot better; I think the second half was a case of everyone doing their job well for the team.”
At the opposite end of the pitch, Marshall also played a key role for the Irons, securing a hat trick and Prenderville was delighted for the young striker after a very impressive preseason thus far.
“He signed for the club in January and had a fantastic end to the season,” Prenderville evaluated. “I thought it would be good for him to get a preseason under his belt at the club and now he has done, we’re already seeing him get even better.”
“He’s been great for us in preseason, he scored a lot of goals for us in the Czech Republic, and he got his hat trick today. It’s not just him impressing too, Orford deserves a mention, his set pieces today were superb, and they led to three of our four goals. Rigge comes on and gets a goal too so lots of the boys are doing well. But going back to Marshall, he is a great lad, he works hard and he’s now reaping the rewards.”
Ahead of Saturday’s final- against Spurs- the assistant coach suggested that there were lots of lessons to take into that game after the 4-3 victory.
“We will be looking for application again, we will want to press from the first minute and have a much better first half on Saturday. We got away with it a bit today, so we will be looking for a performance over 90 minutes on Saturday, with team spirit and everyone doing their jobs.”
