Patrick Kelly was thrilled to play an instrumental role as West Ham United U18s beat Aston Villa 5-2 on Friday.
Callum Marshall and Gideon Kodua fired the young Hammers into an early 2-0 lead before the hosts pulled one back before half-time.
Kelly restored the Irons’ two goal lead immediately after the break. Kodua’s second goal of the match and Favour Fawunmi’s late strike put the result beyond all doubt before an unfortunate own West Ham own goal rounded off the scoring.
The Hammers are now 18 points clear at the top of the U18s Premier League South table after winning their opening twelve matches, and Kelly was impressed with the team’s performance after an impressive victory.
“It’s a great result for us,” Kelly told whufc.com. “We knew it was going to be a tough test and that they were going to field a strong side because they’ve got an FA Youth Cup match on Tuesday.
“We came into the match knowing that we would have to play at our best if we wanted to win the match. We were a bit shaky in the first couple of minutes but once Callum scored we settled down and controlled the game. We were really good from then onwards.”
It was a hard fought encounter played in difficult, windy conditions at Bodymoor Heath training ground and Kelly suggested that the Hammers adjusted well to the difficult conditions.
“It was unbelievably windy,” Kelly reflected. “We were trying passes during our warm-up that were impossible to play due to the conditions. We knew that some aspects of our usual style weren’t going to work.
“It took us a few minutes to get a foot hold in the match but we dealt with the conditions really well for the majority of the match which allowed us to dominate.”
Aston Villa controversially halved the deficit before the interval after the hosts were awarded an indirect free kick for a back-pass.
The young side responded superbly to the set back and Kelly was full of praise for the side’s positive mentality.
He continued: “We weren’t happy with the goal that they scored before half time, we felt a bit hard done by and a few of the lads were a bit deflated at half-time.
“The coaches boosted our spirits at half-time and we knew that we needed to respond in the second half. Even though we were still winning at half-time, it didn’t necessarily feel that way because of the way that the first half ended.
“We started the second half really well and got the early goal. From then onwards we were back in control.”
The Northern Irish midfielder was on hand to score his first goal of the season on minute 48 to restore the Hammers’ two goal lead.
Kelly was delighted to help the team with an important goal.
“It was my first goal of the season and it was long overdue to be honest,” Kelly smiled. “I played a bit more advanced in the second half and I had quite a few chances. I probably had more shots today than I have in every other match combined this season!
“Callum put the pressure on and the ball fell to me on the edge of the box. I hit it hard and low, just as I try to do in training, and fortunately it went in. It was an important goal and I’m glad that I could help the team.”
