West Ham United U18s continued their flawless start to the 2022/23 season with a 4-0 win against Crystal Palace.
The young Hammers were in U18 Premier League South action for the first time in 2023 and Kevin Keen’s side were quick to pick up from where they left off at the end of last year, racing into an early lead.
Oliver Scarles’ well placed free kick gave the Irons an early advantage and George Earthy quickly fired the hosts into a 2-0 lead with a superb solo effort.
Callum Marshall put the Hammers 3-0 up before the 30-minute mark and Gideon Kodua’s late strike capped off an excellent day for the side.
The Hammers are now fifteen points clear at the top of the U18 Premier League South table, having won their opening eleven matches.
U18s lead coach Keen was delighted with his team’s dominant performance against the Eagles.
“It was a really pleasing performance,” Keen told whufc.com. “We had a few of our players go away with the U21s and we have had a bit of time off too, so to see that performance today was really positive.
“Crystal Palace are a really strong opponent and they have some really good players, so to perform like we did today was brilliant, especially in the first half. We played some fantastic football at times so I am very happy.”
Both West Ham United and Crystal Palace players and staff observed a minute's silence prior to kick off, following the sad passing of beloved Joint-Chariman David Gold on Wednesday.
The Hammers started on the front foot and took the lead seven minutes into the match. Kodua was fouled on the edge of the 18-yard box, presenting Scarles with a goal scoring opportunity. The wing back smartly converted the free kick, whipping the ball around the wall and into the bottom right corner.
West Ham doubled their lead just minutes later. Lewis Orford set the ball into Earthy’s path on the halfway line and the No8 did the rest. The 18-year-old midfielder showed skill and pace to drive down the right flank before cutting inside and powerfully striking the ball past the Eagles’ goalkeeper Jackson Izquierdo.
After a dominant start to proceedings, the Irons had to remain defensively disciplined against a dangerous opponent. Crystal Palace registered their first chance of the match on 22 minutes as Zach Marsh curled an effort towards goal from the edge of the box. The striker’s shot was well defended and the ball spun narrowly over the crossbar and behind for a corner.
Marshall extended the Hammers' lead on minute 27. Orford’s low cross caused trouble in the visitors’ defence and Izquierdo was only able to parry the ball into Marshall’s path. The Northern Irish striker calmly placed the ball into the corner from close range.
Keen’s side looked to extend their advantage after the interval, and Izquierdo denied the Irons their fourth goal with two excellent saves, initially charging down Earthy’s effort before parrying Marshall’s strike behind for a corner.
The last ten minutes looked set to be a tense affair as Crystal Palace were awarded a penalty. Asher Agbinone stepped up for the visitors but his effort was well saved by Finley Herrick, as the West Ham shot stopper guessed correctly to preserve his clean sheet.
Kodua extended the West Ham lead to 4-0 with five minutes remaining. A long ball was poorly dealt with by the Palace defence and Kodua raced onto the loose ball and placed the ball into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box, capping off an excellent day for the Hammers.
Keen suggested that it was important for his side to start quickly after a break from U18s Premier League South football.
“We’ve had an unwanted record of conceding first in several matches,” Keen reflected.
“Thankfully we have been able to come back into matches, but we don’t enjoy conceding first. It actually started on the first day of the season against Crystal Palace, we fell 2-0 down and we managed to win 3-2.
“I made it clear to the boys that we can’t keep doing that. We knew that we needed to become more professional and we knew that we needed to start scoring the first goal in matches. We defended well today and we didn’t concede too many chances in the first half. It was also good to see us take the match by the scruff of the neck, scoring three first half goals. That’s another aspect that I am pleased with.”
The young Hammers have now kept four clean sheets in the league this season and Keen suggested that the whole team deserve praise after a positive defensive display.
He continued: “Clean sheets are obviously really important. We have two fantastic goalkeepers, Finley saved a penalty today which was great, and we’ve got Mason Terry who will be back in goal next week.
“The clean sheet isn’t just important for the goalkeepers and defenders, it’s also important for the whole team. We defend right from the front and everyone plays their part. Billy Bates made some great blocks today and Asher Falase made a brilliant block in the second half, so the defenders deserve a lot of credit. There was a lot of heart and desire shown today.”
Whilst Keen is delighted with the U18s superb start to the 2022/23 season, he is determined to focus on the upcoming matches.
“It’s just one match at a time and the players are in control of things,” Keen said. “All of the players know that we have a talented squad, they all know what we want to achieve and fortunately we are on a fantastic run at the moment.
“We just want to keep going. We want to enjoy the ride, we want to work hard for each other and we want to keep performing. That’s what it’s all about”
West Ham United U18s: Herrick, Falase, Bates, Tarima, Scarles (Fawunmi 66), Battrum (Akpata 83), Orford (Rigge 83), Kelly, Earthy, Kodua, Marshall (Briggs 83)
Goals: Scarles 7, Earthy 13, Marshall 27, Kodua 84