Freddie Potts said that West Ham U21s weren’t at their best as individuals, nor as a team, as the young Hammers fell to a 3-0 defeat against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Mark Robson’s side could have and probably should have taken the lead in the opening twenty minutes but were punished for their wastefulness as Liverpool stole a two goal advantage heading into half time. The visitors added a killer third goal quickly after the interval to cap off a disappointing afternoon for the Hammers.
Potts suggested that the team didn’t compete well enough during periods of the match.
“It was a really poor performance and we all have to take responsibility,” the midfielder reflected. “We really weren’t happy with how the game went; we are all extremely disappointed in the dressing room. It just wasn’t good enough individually and as a team. It was a frustrating night.
“The biggest frustration is that it could have been a completely different outcome. We had some fantastic opportunities in the early stages of the match and we should have taken them.
"We could have been 2-0 up but we’ve ended up losing 3-0 which is a poor result. We didn’t compete well enough all over the pitch and we ended up paying the price.”
The 19-year-old was keen to note that if you fail to take your chances at U21s level, you will be punished.
He continued: “As I said we should’ve taken the lead on a number of occasions and we paid the price because we weren’t clinical enough. At the other end, Liverpool created a couple of chances in the first half and they took them.
"The chances that we created were just as clear cut but we lost the match because Liverpool took their chances and we didn’t.
“That’s how football goes and I think we need to learn a few lessons from tonight heading into the next few games. We haven’t started the season in the manner that we would have liked and we are absolutely gutted tonight as we came into tonight’s game full of belief that we could get something.”
The Hammers have faced an extremely busy schedule during October, having played eight matches across the month. Robson’s side now have nine days to prepare for their next match in Premier League 2 as they host Wolves on Monday the 7th of November.
Potts says that the break has come at a positive time for the U21 side, and that the squad must get their season back on track against Wolves next Monday.
“The small break has come at a good time for us. We aren’t where we want to be in the league and a few of our performances have been really poor recently.
"We have to use the next week to reflect and to move forwards. We need to put in the work on the training ground and we need to show some more fight heading into the next games.
“Every game is a tough game but Wolves is a huge game for us now. We know that it will be a tough match but we need to prepare well and most importantly we need to pick up three points. We need a big response," Potts concluded.
