West Ham United U18s made a return to winning ways with a deserved 1-0 victory away to Aston Villa.
The only goal of the game came just after 20 minutes as Anouar El Mhassani put the Hammers in front in an entertaining fixture at Bodymoor Heath.
The finish came as a result of a flowing team move by the Hammers, with a string of passes eventually seeing the ball land at the feet of Sean Adarkwa up front.
The striker’s excellent composure saw him lay the ball off for El Mhassani, who coolly netted for the Irons U18s.
The victory was just the tonic the Academy side needed after a disappointing loss last time out against Liverpool, having bested Reading in the game prior.
The win means West Ham U18x have taken six points from their last three games and now sit 10th in the Premier League U18 South division.
Coach Mark Phillips said on the win: “We are positively delighted with the result today. We changed our system slightly, as you will have seen, and it worked wonders in this match.
“The lads played some lovely football and adapted excellently to what we asked them to do. We’re really pleased with the performance and it was a positive win for us.”
The win puts the Hammers in good stead ahead of a contest next week away to division leaders Chelsea.