Mark Robson offered a glowing review of West Ham United U21s’ performance and character after the young Hammers fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Blackburn Rovers.
The Irons put in an excellent showing away to an in-form Rovers side – one that boasted a number of players with EFL experience – and were greatly unfortunate to fall two goals behind in two minutes in the second half.
The Hammers never lost their belief they could get something from the match, however, with Callum Marshall’s first U21s goal halving the deficit before Regan Clayton struck a deserved leveller late on.
And the visitors could have taken all three points from an entertaining encounter in Leyland, with Pierre Ekwah striking the bar and Will Greenidge and Freddie Potts both going close.
“I thought we played really well,” Robson told whufc.com. “We were the better team in the first half. We stuck to our game plan, which was how we felt we could hurt them, and we were just missing the final ball at times. And we’ll get better at that over time. I know the lads have got it in them. It’s just a little bit of belief around it.
“I was really pleased with the overall performance in the first half and we’re disappointed, really, to be coming away with a draw and not a win.
“They more than held their own against these older lads. Playing against senior players gives you something more. I know one of their lads really well and he’s 24-years-old and he’s playing in the Championship, and he’s a good player. Will Greenidge did really well against him today.
“Some of our younger ones were playing against big lads who have EFL experience, and it’s a challenge. It seems to be that the more we’re doing it, the better we’re getting with it. It was a big test but the boys rolled their sleeves up and showed some superb character.
“We went two goals down from goals that could have been avoided, but we got back into it and there was only one team that looked like winning in the end. I’m really pleased.”
An impressive team performance saw a number of individuals also show their quality, with striker Gideon Kodua putting in an excellent showing on his full U21s debut.
The forward joined his former U18s attacking partner Callum Marshall up front, and Robson was delighted with how he performed.
“Gideon did really well. There were times when the ball was coming up to him and he held it up well, keeping their big centre-halves at bay and never gave them a chance. There were some really good things from Gideon today.
“He and Callum Marshall did really well, and their work ethic was excellent. They were very unselfish in terms of their work-rate and I’m pleased that, in Gideon, we’ve got another young lad who’s had a chance with us and done really well.”
Robson noted his team’s disappointment in not taking a first league win of the season from Blackburn Rovers as a mark of how well the side played throughout Saturday’s match.
With recent efforts being lauded by Robson, the lead coach is anticipating even more from his side in coming matches.
“The boys have come in at the end and they’re disappointed we’ve not won the game. We had more than enough opportunities to win it and maybe if we had a little more quality in the final third, it would have fallen for us.
“We competed so well against a strong side. On the ball, we were so good. We broke them down and got into good positions. It was an overall good team performance. It was excellent and, for the boys, their confidence will grow.
“I think they’ve realised how good they are as a group and how well they’ve been playing in recent games – in this match, against Chelsea and against MK Dons. There is a belief there that we are good side. We have some good players and we’re getting there.”
