Regan Clayton believes West Ham United U18s got the result they deserved for their perseverance in Tuesday’s FA Youth Cup fourth round win over Burnley.
George Earthy’s first-time finish on 89 minutes proved to be the difference at the County Ground in an intense, feisty and thrilling encounter, in which both teams saw chances to the lead go begging.
Burnley’s goalkeeper, Charlie Casper, made a number of excellent stops to deny Callum Marshall, Gideon Kodua and Earthy, while Mason Terry had to be similarly alert in the West Ham goal.
In a match that saw each side trade spells of domination and chances, Clayton was eager to praise Tuesday’s opponents for their ability. The full-back feels having to come through such a tough game made victory, and progression into the last 16, even sweeter.
“That was probably one of the hardest games I’ve played in this season,” the full-back told whufc.com. “It was a real battle.
“We watched the analysis before the game and we thought they were going to be, with respect, the sort of Burnley team that you would expect. But full credit to them because they played some good football as well. It was a really good game but our quality shone through in the end.
“Their goalkeeper pulled off some absolutely unreal saves! On another day, we could have been three or four goals up much earlier in the match but, full credit to him, because he had a blinder.
“Going back the other way, Mason saved us a couple of times and Kaelan Casey cleared one off the line too. It was a hard battle, no doubt about it. Credit to us as well because we didn’t let our heads go down. We kept knocking on the door and we got our reward for our perseverance.”
The young Hammers had already contended with logistical challenges prior to Tuesday’s fixture, with the originally scheduled fourth round outing being postponed due to an unplayable pitch.
A change in date, time and venue allowed the game to go ahead three days later, but a battle awaited Kevin Keen’s Irons.
Clayton was thrilled for Earthy to score the winner and believes the following celebrations showed just what an important moment the goal was.
“To score in the 89th minute is unreal,” he continued. “For George to get it too, I’m so happy for him. He took it so well on his right foot and I think you could see in our celebrations what it meant to us.
“We had to get through that last little bit of the game but we did our job and we’re into the next round, and we’re all buzzing.”
The real reward for progression is a spot in the round of 16 for the first time since the 2020/21 season, and Clayton is already eager anticipating the trip to face Stoke City.
With former Academy Manager Ricky Martin now working at the Potters, there are plenty of links between the two sides, and the defender is keen for the Irons to secure a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2004/05 campaign.
“We’re already excited for Stoke City,” Clayton added. “We’ve been playing well this season and we don’t want that to change. We want to keep going.
“We’ll be back working hard at Chadwell Heath, we’ll go again, and we’ll fight to keep progressing.”
