A GREAT night of football is in prospect at Upton Park tomorrow
(Tuesday) evening, as Hammers Under-18s go up against Southampton
in the FA Youth Cup Quarter-Final.
Having already seen off Gillingham, Blackburn and Leyton Orient to
reach the last eight, Tony Carr's team will have to be at their
best against Southampton, who are widely regarded as one of the
strongest side's in the tournament.
Here, goalkeeper Darren Behcet and midfielder David Cowley look
forward to the game.
Darren Behcet - Goalkeeper
"Southampton are a very dangerous team. They play as a unit
and work really hard, and we're definitely going to have to be
at our best against them. Preparations have gone pretty well,
although all the snow we had last week caused a bit of
disruption and we've done quite a bit of work inside in
the gym. But we've been outside over the weekend and I think
everybody is ready and really looking forward to the game.
We haven't been told who will be playing yet, but whether
it's Matt Reed or myself, we'll have to be right on top of
our game.
Fingers crossed there will be a big crowd at Upton Park that will
really get behind us. We had a great turnout for the Orient game
and hopefully there will be a similar sized crowd, because it
should be a really special night for the boys."
David Cowley - Midfielder
"I'm not sure whether I'll be playing from the start,
but hopefully I can get a place on the bench and then maybe come on
and make an impact. I was really pleased to play my first Reserve
game last week. That was a big step for me and hopefully I can
start to push on from there.
Southampton are a really strong team and it's going to be
tough. They've got big, physical players, but they're also
good technically and we're expecting them to move the ball very
well.
I've been at West Ham for seven years now and have been lucky
enough to play at Upton Park in a couple of schoolboy games.
There's nothing like playing in front of a good crowd and
we're all hoping they'll be a similar turnout to the Leyton
Orient game.
It's going to be a big night and Southampton are a strong team,
but we'll just give it everything and see what
happens."
Youths On Cup Quarter-final
7 March