Kaelan Casey could take personal pride in making his first start for West Ham United U21s in Saturday’s loss to Chelsea.
A Lewis Hall finish early in the second-half proved the difference between the two sides at Rush Green Stadium, although the Irons undoubtedly deserved at least a share of the spoils after an excellent performance from the home side.
Casey, who signed his first professional deal in the summer and started the campaign in Kevin Keen’s U18s, was given his first start at U21s level against the Blues and was thrilled to get the opportunity.
“This is a proud moment for me, on a personal level,” Casey told whufc.com. “It’s my first start for the U21s. It’s a first step for me in this team and hopefully I can get many more under my belt.
“It’s an unfortunate result though. We dug in well all the way to the end of the game and it’s massively unfortunate the ball didn’t go in the net for us.”
Casey lined up on the right-side of a three-man defence, alongside Michael Forbes and Freddie Potts, as the development side lined up with a 3-5-2 formation against Chelsea.
Having featured in such a tactical shape often for the U18s last year, the 17-year-old felt the formation worked well for the U21s.
“We played with this shape with the U18s a lot last season, and I think it worked well for us against Chelsea. The boys defended really, really well and it’s so unfortunate that their goal went in. We did well and we deserved something from the match.”
The youngsters face a quick turnaround as PSV Eindhoven visit east London on Tuesday in the Premier League International Cup, and Casey is relishing the prospect of testing himself against European opposition.
“I’m looking forward to Tuesday against PSV. We need to rest, recover, and make sure we’re ready for them.
“We’ve just got to stick together, and make sure we’re properly in every single game until the end. We just need to do what we’ve been doing and we’ll get the results we deserve in the end.”
