Archie Woods was among the near 3,000 West Ham United fans cheering on the first team at Anfield at the end of March.
What makes his passionate, in-person support even more impressive is that he played for the U18s at Reading a little earlier in the day.
The midfielder scored his first goal of the campaign from the penalty spot in the 6-0 win at the Royals before rushing to the train station after the game, making it to the Premier League tie just moments after kick-off.
“That was a tight one,” Woods smiled. “We kicked off at 11am and we finished around 12:45pm. I sprinted into the changing rooms and got changed. I jumped in the car because my mum came and watched me, and I was getting changed into my normal clothes in the back of the car as she rushed me to the train station.
“I don’t know Reading that well either so we’re looking for the station. Then there were road works as well so I’m worrying. I get into the station and I run up to one platform. Of course, it was the wrong one so I run to the next platform.
“Finally I found the right train which took me from Reading back into London. Went to Paddington, back over to London Euston and finally on the way up to Liverpool.
“The train was getting into Liverpool at 5.20pm and kick-off was at 5.30pm. I had pre-booked my taxi in Liverpool to take me to Anfield. He got me there at 5.35pm and I made it into the ground with less than ten minutes on the clock!
“It was a mad journey. I’m proud of the effort. The boys in the changing room were calling me ‘mental’ for doing it.”
The trip to Merseyside may have been the closest call to missing a game for Woods, but it certainly was not the first time he has made an away trip this season.
“This year I think I’ve managed to do eight away days. I’ve been to Burnley, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Manchester City and then, most recently, Liverpool.
“Sometimes it works out nicely. When the first team played Everton away, it was a Sunday game and we actually had Everton away on the Saturday. I played the game with the U18s on the Saturday, stayed over the night and went to the game on the Sunday.
“There was another one where the U18s played Burnley away and the first team had Manchester City away on the Sunday so I did the same thing again. When they work out like that, they’re not too bad.”
A lifelong West Ham fan, born into a family of Hammers, it was never in doubt the team who Woods would support.
Following his beloved Irons would be tricky when the family moved to Dubai when the midfielder was young, but still Woods would come back with to see the Hammers in action during pre-season and the holidays.
He continued: “I've supported West Ham all my life, from when I was young. Everyone in my family is West Ham fans. All my friends are West Ham fans.
“I went to my first game when I was when I was five and my Dad was a season-ticket holder for years before we moved to Dubai. We would come back in the summers to watch West Ham play and go to as many pre-season games as possible, and hopefully a few at the start of the season.
“We would also try to come back at Christmas to see family and, if we could, we’d get a game in then as well. I remember one year we went to Derby County away. I was seven and, for a Christmas present, I got a toy plane and there was a Derby County away ticket underneath it. As a seven-year-old, that was very exciting.”
Opportunities of representing the first-team may not be as far away as they used to be, with Woods making his U23s debut earlier this season. The midfielder netted his first league goal of the campaign away to Reading, ahead of his Liverpool trip, and the young Irons are well in the race for the league title.
“It was good to get my first goal,” he reflected. “It was a penalty and I’m on the penalties when I can be, so it was great to get off the mark. The team has been performing very well. We’re keeping clean-sheets and scoring goals, which is superb.
“I know I’ve only been playing a short while but I’ve been in the Academy for eight years and this group is the best I’ve been a part of. The togetherness, I’ve never felt anything like it before. It’s special. When you’ve got a together group, it really helps on the pitch as well. I think that’s been a key factor for us this season.”
