Keen's Second-half Delight

RESERVE team boss Kevin Keen praised his side's second-half performance as Hammers defeated Portsmouth 3-1 at Fratton Park.

Fielding a strong side Hammers fought back from a 1-0 half-time deficit with two goals from Bobby Zamora and a Chris Cohen penalty.

Kevin said afterwards: "Our second-half display was outstanding. We played some super football, the team combined really well and the quality of some of our play was very high.

"I was extremely pleased because it was an excellent team performance. Bobby Zamora took his goals very well and always looked a threat. He combined very well with Jeremie Aliadiere in the first-half, until Jeremie went off at half-time.

"Kyel Reid had a very good game and overall the boys could be well-pleased with their performance.

"It was a strong side for us and it is definitely a bonus having the more experienced players in the team. But sometimes it's the young players that give the team an extra spark, as Kyel did for us against Portsmouth, and we looked a really balanced team throughout the game.

"It was a good way to get our first win of the season and hopefully we can build on this over the next few weeks."

After a tight 3-2 defeat at Arsenal in the opening game of the season, followed by a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, it's been a steady improvement for Kevin Keen's side.

Now he is hoping his Reserve team can put together another strong run, as they did towards the end of last season.

Kevin added: "Losing to Arsenal in the first game was disappointing, because after our very good run at the end of last season it was the first time we had lost in a while.

"It was also a last minute goal that we conceded, and that's never easy to take. But we came back with a solid performance against Crystal Palace and we've put in a really good display at Portsmouth.

"Hopefully we can go on a bit of a run again now. Whether the team is made up of senior players or youngsters, I feel that we've shown enough in the first three games to prove that we can play good football and be competitive.

"This will be good for confidence and hopefully we can keep it going against Southampton next week."