Callum Marshall’s disappointment was clear come the final whistle against Jong PSV.
Like his teammates, the young Irish striker’s face said it all after West Ham United U21s fell to a 5-0 defeat in the Premier League International Cup, although he was quick to reiterate he wanted to put things right next time out.
On Tuesday evening, Mark Robson selected a youthful side even by the Academy's standard, with Marshall one of the ten players that started against PSV to have made the jump from U18s to U21s this season.
In the end, the Hammers came up short as experience told. But there is plenty to learn for the U21s despite a frustrating defeat in east London and Marshall is determined to do just that.
“It was a really tough game,” he remarked. “I think we started well, pressing them really high.
“But as the game went on, they got one goal in the first half, which we were unlucky with. At half-time, we knew they were a good team but we still felt like we were in the game.
“But the second half we conceded a couple of not-so-great goals. They were a very, very good team. They are used to playing against men every week and are obviously going to be really good players, who are used to be playing at a high intensity.”
Jong PSV play in the second league in the Netherlands, and their quality was evident in the second half at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
The scoreline was perhaps a tad harsh on the Hammers, who might have gone ahead when Archie Woods dragged an effort wide, but instead found themselves trailing at the break.
But the result tells half the story of a competition designed to help the next generation make the jump to first-team football.
Marshall only made his debut for the U21s in our Premier League International Cup opener against Sparta Prague last month, and has gone on to show plenty of promise leading the line over the past month.
And whilst it is tough to find positives from the final result against PSV, the 17-year-old remains confident he can learn from a tough evening and find his feet after making the step up to the U21s in recent weeks.
“It’s been good but tough as well,” he explained on making to move to the U21s. “We’re not really getting results at the minute. Against Chelsea, I thought we played really, and we should have scored in that game.
“But we haven’t really got going the way we should be. We are not creating much, which is hard as a striker. It’s just trying to be in those areas at the right time.”
