West Ham United U23s’ defeat in the Premier League Cup quarter-finals to Fulham was a particularly difficult one to take, according to Levi Laing.
Sonny Hilton’s goal in the second half was the difference between the east London and west London sides at Rush Green Stadium, with the Cottagers progressing to the semi-finals of the tournament at the Hammers’ expense.
Centre-back Laing credited Fulham for a good performance but feels the Irons were nowhere near their collective best.
“We just weren’t on it today,” the defender told whufc.com. “Losing 1-0 means we’re out of the Cup, which we are all frustrated with. It’s unfortunate.
“Credit to Fulham, they’re a good side and they were on it from start to finish. They popped it around well and we didn’t really get near them. We had a couple of opportunities, but we couldn’t make them count, and they got the goal that matters.
“The boys are all disappointed. We were hopeful of winning this game and maybe going all the way in this competition, so it’s a hard one to take. We need to learn from it and improve as individuals and as a team.”
The development side have a quick turnaround with an away clash at Everton in their penultimate league match of the season on Monday, before welcoming Arsenal to London Stadium a week later.
Laing has called on the squad to get it right in the remaining two games and end the season on a high.
He added: “We have a quick turnaround with Everton on Monday so we need to go again and try to get it right out there on the pitch.
“We’ve got two league games left and we need to leave it all out there. The boys need to play for West Ham and we also need to be playing for ourselves. We need to go again and show what we’re about.”
