Mark Robson could not contain his pride and delight after West Ham United U21s claimed a vital 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Kamarai Swyer’s first-half finish was followed by two goals by Divin Mubama in the second half to give the Hammers a huge first league victory of the season at Rush Green Stadium on Monday.
An unfortunate own-goal from Harrison Ashby late in the first half was the only blemish on an otherwise brilliant evening for the development side; one that Robson believes is a long time coming.
“A win has been coming for five or six games,” the lead coach told whufc.com. “We’ve probably not played as well in this game as we have done in others, to be honest, but we still played well. But I’m just so pleased for the boys. They deserved the three points. Their performances over the season so far have warranted it.
“It’s a young team that’s starting to come together, and there’s still going to be ups and downs, but I’m so proud of them for this win. I’m proud of everybody – the players and the staff – because it’s been tough and we’ve taken a few jabs on the chin, but it fell for us against Wolves.”
It has been nine days since the U21s' last league outing, and Robson believes a good week of training – as well as having a significant number of players involved in the first-team’s trip to FCSB in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday – has played a huge factor in achieving Monday’s win.
He continued: “Training in the last few days has been really good. I think Thursday, out in Bucharest with the first team, gave everybody a lift in our group. It was a really surreal, special moment, and that has carried on into this game.
“The energy levels that the boys showed was top drawer and they had the bit between their teeth. We had some very good performances. I thought the back three were excellent and they gave us the platform to go and do our thing in the attacking third.
“We managed to score three and we probably could have grabbed a couple more, but I’m really pleased with the performance and the quality”
A manic schedule throughout October and November is beginning to slow down, with two games left for the U21s prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
A London derby against Tottenham Hotspur awaits the Irons on Friday, and Robson is eager to see a similar level of showing from his young side.
“The boys played well and perhaps you might think that a team that is down the bottom of the league wouldn’t produce that kind of football. But I have to say that I think that’s where we are. We’re a side that has a lot of quality about us but we showed a lot more fight, which is something we need going forward. It was so pleasing to see.
“We have Tottenham Hotspur on Friday and then we play Feyenoord on Tuesday. That’ll give me the chance to look at one or two more in the squad in those games. But it’s been a really busy schedule and I think everyone will be looking forward to a little breather from that.
“But we’re all really looking forward to Friday as well. The boys are buzzing after this game, as they rightly should be, and hopefully they can produce a similar performance against a difficult opposition in Tottenham.”
