WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS v WEST HAM UNITED
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE ELITE GROUP STAGE
TUESDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2013
KICK-OFF: 7PM
REFEREE: STEVEN PLANE
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Final score - Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s 2-1 West Ham United U21s
90+3 mins - It's all over and it's so, so cruel on the Hammers. There are lessons to be learned, no doubt, but West Ham will count themselves desperately unlucky to come away with nothing. Next up, it's the small task of Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground on Friday!
90 mins - GOAL! Disaster. Frazer Shaw concedes possession in his own half allowing McAlinden to square for Parry who makes no mistake from 12 yards, firing high beyond Larkins. In a late bid to salvage something, Nasha is replaced by Kieran Sadlier.
84 mins - Determined to re-establish their lead, West Ham head straight up the other end. Paulista has the ball at his feet and tries his luck but his strike is horribly wayward. Meanwhile, Wolves make a second swap, withdrawing goalscorer Cassidy for Tim Jakobsson.
82 mins - GOAL! Heartbreak for the visitors as Mr Plane points to the spot. Larkins had initially done brilliantly to claw a header away from goal, only for the referee to penalise Shaw for a challenge on Evans. It looked harsh. Cassidy steps up and slams the spot-kick high past Larkins.
77 mins - It's substitutions all round here, as Robbie Parry replaces Zeli Ismail for the hosts. On the pitch it's gone rather quiet, which will please Haycock no end. Plane awards the Hammers a free-kick just to the right of centre, 25 yards from goal. Paulista takes it but smashes it low into the wall. Not his best, I suspect.
75 mins - There's a second change in a matter of minutes for Nick Haycock's men and this one appears to be enforced. Spiegel who has evidently picked up a knock makes way for fellow stopper Jake Larkins.
71 mins - Meanwhile, the visitors have by no means given up on adding to their lead as Paulista, from all of 30 yards, has Cotman scrambling across his goal. Much to the relief of the Wolves keeper, it drifts narrowly wide. That signals a first change of the evening as Frazer Shaw replaces Gardner.
69 mins - Almost a disaster for West Ham at the back as Ruddock makes a mess of a back pass to hand McAlinden the chance to equalise. Spiegel, however, stands tall and rescues the young man with a fine block.
66 mins - Wolves win a free-kick on the nearside and here come the cavalry from the back. It's a wasted journey for the big men as Spiegel, in typically commanding fashion, plucks the ball out the sky. Safe hands.
63 mins - It's smiles all round as Gardner shanks a clearance into the main stand here. He gets a friendly jeer or two as he sheepishly looks at the pitch before grinning at his adoring public.
59 mins - There's a slight lull here but I suspect it's merely the calm before the storm. Lletget is felled on the edge of the box by Evans, who gets a caution for his troubles. Lee takes charge of the set-piece but fires straight into the wall.
55 mins - Wolves make headway down their left and have bodies aplenty waiting to make the most of the centre. Pelly Ruddock, however, has other ideas, and controls before lumping it out of harm's way.
52 mins - It's breathless stuff here as both sides trade blows. Lee continues to look dangerous as Cotman has to fling himself low to his right to palm the frontman's strike around the post. At the other end, Spiegel is becoming ever busier, as he fields a Lee Evans drive.
50 mins - Gardner loses out to Sam Whittall who drives purposefully towards goal. After several step-overs, he finally lets fly but can only find the side-netting of Spiegel's goal.
48 mins - Seconds later, Moncur is lining up a free-kick some 20 yards from goal. It's an inviting position for a strike and Moncur obliges but heaves his effort well over the crossbar.
47 mins - Unbelievable stuff. Nasha slides in Lee, who slots past Cotman, but to his and everyone else's surprise the ball crashes off the inside of the post and rolls back across the face of goal and to safety. Desperately unlucky.
46 mins - Wolves get us off and underway in the second period. As far as West Ham are concerned, it's very much a case of more of the same please.
45 mins - That's your lot for the first half as Plane blows for half time. West Ham have looked a threat from beginning to end and are good value for their slender advantage. A job very well done thus far. We'll be back with you shortly.
44 mins - Amos Nasha tidies up in midfield and with no one closing him down he lets fly from 25 yards. It's a really good hit but straight at Cotman, who does well to get plenty behind it.
41 mins - Wolves have responded well since falling behind and it's they who are asking all the questions just now. That said, it's the Hammers who go close once more, as Moncur bursts into the box and with Paulista to his right, he opts to go for a goal but can only stab wide.
37 mins - GOAL! West Ham are in front and deservedly so. Lletget latches on to Lee's ball in behind, before cutting inside off the left flank and slotting past Cotman. That's some way to celebrate a new contract. A fine finish too.
34 mins - The visitors are pressing high up the pitch here and it very nearly pays dividends. Spence has plenty of time to pick a pass, as he drills the ball into the feet of Paulista. The Brazilian flicks into the path of Moncur, who, from an unhelpfully acute angle, drills his effort right across the face of goal.
31 mins - West Ham win a corner on the far side, it looks to have eluded everyone but the Hammers appeal for a second corner and referee Steven Plane obliges. It's Moncur with the delivery but it's too close to Cotman who claims cleanly.
28 mins - End to end stuff now. Sebastian Lletget makes a well-timed dart into the box and stabs goalward. His effort takes a slight nick off a Wolves defender, which is just enough to take the ball wide of the far post.
26 mins - The Hammers are very fortunate to escape, as Cassidy twice goes close. After seeing his header cleared off the line by Potts, Cassidy then smashes a drive towards the far corner, only to be denied by a brilliant one-handed stop from Spiegel.
23 mins - West Ham threaten on the counter as Moncur shows quick feet to release Lee. He in turn plays in Bywater but for all their neat approach play, the winger's centre is nodded clear.
20 mins - After a pulsating start, the game is growing increasingly disjointed. Both sides scrapping away in the middle of the park but neither making much headway in the final third.
16 mins - Back come the hosts. An excellent cross from the left is met by Jake Cassidy, whose first-time effort is deflected behind for a corner. The resulting set-piece comes to nothing. Nick Haycock's men are looking robust at the back thus far. Pelly Ruddock and Dan Potts dealing with everything that comes their way.
13 mins - As we've come to expect, Paulista is making his presence felt. He flicks Gardner's throw-in into the path of Elliot Lee, but it's got too much weight on it and runs away from the No11.
10 mins - The home side are beginning to find their feet and win two corners in quick succession. Both are comfortably dealt with and the Hammers breathe again.
7 mins - The Hammers are inches away from snatching an early advantage. Jordan Spence's measured ball sets Wellington Paulista in the clear and his deft lob has 'keeper Aljaz Cotman beaten but drops the wrong side of the post. Close, very close.
5 mins - Bywater in the thick of it once more, he gets to the by-line and does very well to pick out George Moncur. West Ham's No8 effort is headed goalward before an excellent block snuffs out the chance.
4 mins - At the other end Kieran Bywater has a very respectable dig from the edge of the box. It clears the angle of post and bar but smart play all the same.
1 min - So here we go, it's the Hammers who get us underway. The visitors have an early free-kick some 25 yards from goal, it's Anthony Forde lining it up. The less said about that effort the better as the strike is skewed very, very wide.
18.55pm - It's a very pleasant, and crucially, dry evening for football, albeit despicably cold. The fingerless glvoes already proving woefully inadequate. Also worth pointing out that AFC Telford United's New Bucks Head ground is very smart-looking indeed. First class.
18:30pm - The teams are in and there is an experienced look about the Hammers this evening with goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel, Jordan Spence and Dan Potts all coming into the side.
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s: Cotman, Whittall, Cranston, Evans, Tank, Iorfa, Ismail, Price, Cassidy, McAlinden, Forde. Subs: Jakobsson, Flatt, Schofield, Parry, Dell.
West Ham United U21s: Spiegel, Spence, Gardner, Nasha, Potts, Ruddock, Bywater, Moncur, Paulista, Lletget, Lee. Subs: Shaw, Larkins, Sadlier, Miles, Onariase.
Good evening and welcome to AFC Telford for tonight's Barclays Under-21 Premier League Elite Group fixture featuring Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.
The Hammers take to the road after successive contests at their Rush Green home, with an excellent 2-0 win over West Bromwich proceeded by a slender 1-0 reverse against Southampton.
Nick Haycock's men, who currently sit fifth, have six points to show from their four outings in the competition's second phase. They have the chance to go second this evening should they triumph by a two-goal margin.
The Development Squad have enjoyed mixed fortunes on the road to date, having earned all three points at Arsenal's London Colney training ground, before slipping to a 3-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
This evening's hosts, meanwhile, are bidding for a first win in the Elite Group, having garnered just a solitary point from four fixtures thus far.
We will have team news for you as soon as we get it, while there will be live text updates right here as of the 7pm kick-off.