Emmanuel Longelo admitted that West Ham United U23s’ defeat to Blackburn Rovers was ‘a tough result to take’.
In contention for the Premier League 2 Division 1 title, the Hammers fell to a disappointing loss away to Rovers on Friday, one which puts the ball firmly in Manchester City’s court in the race for top spot.
Jack Vale’s header gave Rovers the lead on four minutes and, while the Irons battled hard in the second half and created chances, could do little to deny Blackburn their second in added time through Luke Brennan.
“It’s a tough result to take,” Longelo told whufc.com. “We fought really hard in the second half and as the game went on, but it was a really poor start from us. We’re accountable for that. Blackburn came out really strong and, to be fair, they finished strong. We did okay in the second half and had some chances but couldn’t put them away.
“We had our chances but we just didn’t take them. That can happen sometimes in football but it was frustrating. We can’t dwell on it for too long. We need to move on and go again against Leeds on Monday.”
The full-back put in an industrious effort for the development side, testing Blackburn’s defence a number of times from his wide position.
Longelo, who only returned from injury against Tottenham Hotspur last Monday, is relishing his personal comeback.
He continued: “I’m feeling alright in myself. Especially coming back from injury, I’m just glad to be out there playing again. I’m happy to be back out there. I’m taking it game-by-game and I’m grateful to be playing.
Longelo admitted he and his teammates were disappointed to not take anything from Friday’s game and says the side need to show their best again when they face Leeds United in the Premier League Cup round of 16 on Monday.
“This is a game we really want to win,” he added. “It has been one of our season targets, to do well in the Premier League Cup. Friday’s result was disappointing but we just need to recover well, go again and give it a big push ahead of Leeds.
“We had the game last Monday and we had Friday’s match, and we go again on Monday. We’re working hard in training and we’ve got a good, fit bunch of lads. We just need to be ready for Leeds on Monday.”
