West Ham United U21 1-2 AS Monaco U21
Premier League International Cup, Chigwell Construction Stadium, Friday 3 February 2023, 7pm GMT
West Ham United U21s fell to a hard fought 2-1 defeat against AS Monaco in the Premier League International Cup on Friday night.
The young Hammers knew that qualification to the knockout stages was beyond them heading into the match, having claimed three points from their previous three matches in Group B.
Nonetheless, they flew out of the blocks at Chigwell Construction Stadium, and Daniel Chesters scored inside the opening minute of the match.
The visitors levelled almost immediately through Malamine Efekele and the winger secured his and Monaco’s second on minute twelve after a whirlwind start to proceedings.
The Hammers battled for an equaliser in the second half but were unable to find a breakthrough.
Mark Robson’s side will now turn their attentions back to Premier League 2 action, with a home fixture against Fuham on 10 February next up.
The Hammers raced into an early lead inside, scoring within 60 seconds of the first whistle. Chesters exchanged a stunning give and go before racing towards the Monaco goal and driving a powerful effort into the bottom left corner.
The lead was short lived as Monaco hit back with four minutes played. Mamadou Coulibaly played a superb through pass to Efekele who curled an effort into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
Monaco quickly pushed for the lead, dispossessing West Ham in the final third before Efekele unleashed another effort from the edge of the box. The West Ham back line stood strong and his effort deflected just over the crossbar.
The visitors found their second goal of the night after 12 minutes though. Salatiel Decarpentrie used his pace to get to the West Ham byline before chipping a dangerous ball into the 18-yard-box. Jamal Baptiste steered the ball away from goal but the bouncing ball fell to Efekele, who smartly placed the ball into the roof of the net from twelve yards.
The Irons almost fell two goals behind at the start of the second half, and they would have done but for a sensational tackle by Freddie Potts. Decarpentrie committed West Ham defenders on the right-hand side before pulling the ball back to Nazim Babai. The full back seemed set to tuck the ball into the net but Potts slid in to make a vital intervention.
The visitors continued to push for a two-goal advantage and Efekele was at the heart of another attack on the hour. The pacy winger raced into the 18-yard-box and squared the ball to Edan Diop. Fortunately for the Hammers, the No10 fired his strike straight at Jacob Knightbridge.
After withstanding heavy pressure, Robson’s side almost found an equaliser with 15 minutes remaining. Junior Robinson showed pace and determination on the right flank to burst forwards and the wing back whipped a dangerous cross into the Monaco penalty area. Armstrong Oko-Flex attempted to steer the ball towards goal but the cross was marginally too high for the West Ham winger and his effort was off target.
Knightbridge was called into action with moments remaining as Coulibaly raced onto a misplaced pass. The powerful midfielder was able to register a shot on target but West Ham’s shot stopper was on hand to make a smart stop with his left foot to keep the score at 2-1.
West Ham United U21s: Knightbridge, Robinson, Forbes, Luizão, Baptiste (Laing 76), Adeile (Mukasa 76), Woods (Forson 89), Potts ©, Chesters, Oko-Flex (Uwandji 89), Swyer
Subs not used: Abraham (GK), Briggs
Goal: Chesters 1
Booked: Woods
AS Monaco U21s: Lienard, Babai, Semedo ©, Valme, Okou, Magassa, Efekele (Florian Baranik 73), Coulibaly, Kouassi (Enzo Baglieri 64), Diop (Wawina 89), Decarpentrie (Platret 73)
Subs not used: Bery, Olmeta
Goals: Efekele 4, 12
Booked: Magassa, Babai, Valme
Referee: Sam Mulhall
