Coventy City Under-18s 2-1 West Ham United Under-18s
West Ham United were narrowly beaten on Saturday when they travelled to Coventry City for an inter-group fixture in the FA Premier Academy League.
Tony Carr's side had been in good form and went into the weekend on a three-match unbeaten run, having beaten Crystal Palace 4-1 and MK Dons 3-0 and drawn 1-1 with Cardiff City in recent weeks. However, they were to lose out 2-1 to the Sky Blues at the Alan Higgs Centre in Pinley,, with 16-year-old Spanish defender Sergio Sanchez scoring his first goal at U18 level.
Sanchez had headed in the openerl midway through the first half but Callum Wilson and Sulliman Lellu, from the penalty spot, scored either side of the interval to give Coventry the win. Adam Street, who had no chance with the spot-kick, was busy in the second half and was grateful to see Coventry hit the bar with one good effort. Robert Hall suffered a facial injury late on but was given the all-clear after a precautionary trip to hospital.
Many of Carr's squad formed part of Alex Dyer's reserve team for last week's 4-2 Barclays Premier League South defeat at West Bromwich Albion and will hope to be involved again this Tuesday. The second string take on Portsmouth away for the final fixture of the season. The U18 season concludes with home matches against Bristol City and Fulham before the trip to take on Tottenham Hotspur on 2 May.