WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS v DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
BARCLAYS UNDER-21 PREMIER LEAGUE
NEW BUCKS HEAD STADIUM
MONDAY 21 OCTOBER 2013
KICK-OFF: 7PM
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Full-time: West Ham's bandwagon keeps rolling on! Another excellent away win secured by goals from Sadlier and Potts. The home side put up a good fight but ultimately didn't have the quality to match the Hammers in atrocious conditions. After this win the young Hammers may well be singing in the rain...as that's the tune the DJ decides to play the players off too.
90 mins: Two minutes added on as the game fizzles out. That suits West Ham just fine.
89 mins: Cole's work for the night is done as he goes off to be replaced by McCallum
88 mins: Apologies for the delay in text commentary but the WiFi after being ok for 70 minutes has decided to give up in the last twenty, much like Wolves.
86 mins: Tombides strikes a goal bound effort which flicks up off Turgott's back and just wide.
84 mins: The Hammers lose the ball in midfield and allow Keita to shoot. His piledriver is just over Spiegel's cross bar however.
82 mins: A good looking Wolves attack is bought to an end by a poor final ball. Story of their night so far.
80 mins: A David Beckham-esque pass from Cole as he spreads it 30 yards out to the right-hand side.
78 mins: Potts is marauding from centre-back, perhaps not what his manager wants with the score at 2-0.
75 mins: As the game peters out so does my WiFI it appears!
72 mins: All aboard the show boat! Cole produces another lovely flick to find Tombides who hits an attempt off target.
68 mins: Driver heads forward and it looks for a second as though Lletget could be in. The keeper is smartly off his line though to smother the ball.
66 mins GOAL: From the resulting corner Potts is able to turn it home! Not sure where it hit him but i'm sure that's the last of his worries!
65 mins: Potts brings the ball out of defence and with no one in a hurry to close him down he decides to strike. His shot looks to be going over before a deflection takes it for a corner.
63 mins: In the absence of Moncur, Sadlier steps up to stirke and just misses the target with a bullet of a strike.
62 mins: Excellent piece of skill from Cole as he turns away from three defenders before being hacked down and winning a free-kick on the edge of the box.
60 mins: Indeed he can't continue and Reid is replaced by Ibrahim Keita.
59 mins: A good spell of possession yields nothing for the Hammers and on the resulting counter attack the Wolves No9 looks to have pulled a muscle as he chased down the ball.
57 mins: Spiegel's long clearance has Tombides racing through, the striker checks back and strikes but his curling effort is just wide.
55 mins: Driver is having a battle on the left side with a pacy winger. This time he wins the battle and a free-kick to boot.
53 mins: The home side are up in arms screaming for another penalty as Potts looks as though he took down Reid in the box. Lucky escape.
50 mins: First change of the night for West Ham with Danny Whitehead replacing George Moncur.
49 mins: It's been a slow start to the half by the visitors with Wolves clearly keen to impress themselves upon the game more in the second half.
47 mins: Wolves are on the attack straight away and work the ball well before Whittall strikes. Luckily for the Hammers Ruddock throws himself in the way of the shot.
46 mins: The Hammers kick us off for the second half looking to secure the win that would send them back to the top of the league.
Half-time: The corner comes to nothing and the referee ends the first half! A good showing in atrocious conditions by the young Hammers so far and they have the lead thanks to a Kieran Sadlier goal after just six minutes. The left winger turned home a Moncur cross to give his side the perfect start. Spiegel then came to the visitors rescue with a top class save from an O'Hara penalty on 29 minutes. The big man got down well to his left to keep out a good strike. So far, so good.
45+2 mins: An outrageous piece of skill from Tombides sees him pluck the ball from the heavens and turn to run all in one motion. His skill earns the Hammers a corner with just seconds remaining.
45 mins: And defend they do as Whittall tries his luck from range. Fortunately for Spiegel it slams the hoarding just to the left of the goal.
44 mins: The ball boy managed to dodge the wayward shot and now with just a minute until half-time the Hammers are content to defend.
43 mins: The former Tottenham man does strike it but his shot forces a ball boy high up in the stand into evasive action as it flies toward him.
42 mins: Sadlier concedes a free-kick in a dangerous position with O'Hara on the field.
40 mins: Cole nods down and releases Turgott who breaks into the box and fires his shot just wide of the post.
38 mins: Turgott comes sliding back to try and help clear but insted sends the ball towards his own goal. Spiegel is there again however and able to clear.
36 mins: The rain is coming down hard and fast again making it even trickier to keep control of the ball which so far both teams have managed well.
34 mins: Moncur and Turgott combine to win a corner. The ball in is good but well cleared and allows the hosts to counter. They go down the right and deliver a ball in but Turgott is back defending and able to clear.
32 mins: Cole has his first chance of the game as the ball is delivered into the box but he can only stab it into the ground and watch it trickle wide.
29 mins: Wolves have a chance to equalise from the spot after Driver trips his winger. O'Hara steps up and thunders it left but Spiegel produces a magnificent one-handed save to deny him!
28 mins: It's taken short and allows Moncur to hit one, it's hard and low but the keeper is able to deal with it easily enough.
27 mins: Tombides is set free down the right by a Turgott flick and his cross is deflected out for a corner.
25 mins: Spiegel is snappy off his line to thwart Reid who's running in behindand able to win a throw in the process.
24 mins: Turgott again has the chance to run and does so before firing low across the box but no one is there to meet it.
23 mins: Potts throws himself in the way of a Jakobsson shot to keep the Hammers ahead. Great defending.
21 mins: Moncur is looking on his game today and when that's the case it usually spells trouble for his opponents.
20 mins: The rain has finally halted! And it may just prove to be a blessing as this pitch couldn't take much more.
18 mins: Ruddock shepards the ball out for what he thinks will be a goal-kick but the linesman has different ideas. From the resulting corner O'Hara finds Whittall who heads straight at Spiegel.
16 mins: Conditions have made it hard going in the early stages althouh the away side have coped better and could have been two up with Sadlier again involved. The left winger can't put his header on target this time after a chipped cross from Turgott.
14 mins: Carlton Cole looks to be enjoying himself in a West Ham shirt and has already looked dangerous whilst also letting the keeper know of his presence with a late challenge.
12 mins: Cranston fires in a shot at the near post and Spiegel puts it behind from the corner. Turgott then clears off the line after a scramble in the box, his clearance releases Moncur who is able to burst into the Wolves half and set-up Tombides who can only sky the ball over the bar.
10 mins: The pitch does Moncur no favours as Sadlier looks to put him in behind the Wolves defence. He would be clear but for the roll of the ball which holds in the damp surface.
8 mins: The home side have responded well to going behind and forced Spiegel into his first save of the evening. O'Hara strikes a right footed curler but the keeper is equal to it.
6 mins GOAL: Sadlier has got the Hammers off to an absolute flyer! Moncur breaks into the box and feeds Sadlier who fires home first time to score. What a start!
5 mins: Turgott gets his first touches down the right side and decides to cross from deep. The ball in is easy for the defenders to clear however.
3 mins: Driver is back on his feet and looks like he may be able to continue. Good news for the visitors.
1 min: Callum Driver is on the ground and in need of medical attention after making a committed challenge on the right midfielder.
Kick-off: Wolves kick us off as the rain continues to fall in the midlands.
6:57 pm: The players have emerged from the tunnel and now undertake the pre-match formalities before we get this one underway.
6:52 pm: The players are in their respective changing rooms gearing up for the game as some dance music gets the couple of hundred people in the ground fired up for the match.
6:45 pm: The rain has eased up slightly as the teams prepare to head to shelter for their final match preperations. There are plenty of scouts in attendance keen to cast their eye's over the talent on show.
6:30 pm: Half an hour to go until kick-off and the Hammers are ramping up their warm-up amidst a back drop of heavy rain which is already having an affect on the roll of the ball on a very soggy surface. On the up side there is a lovely waft of chips floating across the ground as the fans drift in.
6:05 pm: The team news is in. A strong line-up for the Hammers tonight as they look to hand crucial game time to the forward pair of Carlton Cole and Mladen Petric. Just under an hour to kick off but some pretty dreadful country music can already be heard ringing out around the New Bucks Head Stadium.
The Development Squad resume Barclays Under-21 Premier League action tonight as they travel up to the home of AFC Telford to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers. The young Hammers have kept themselves busy during the international break with games against Conference National opposition in the shape of Luton Town and Cambridge United as they geared up for this clash. Nick Haycock's side are top of the league having won five of their opening seven matches suffering only one defeat whilst their opponents occupy eighth place in the table with three wins, three defeats and one draw to show from their league matches thus far.
There are some big names on show tonight with a couple of familiar faces on show for the Hammers. The Wolves backline should be in for a busy night with Mladen Petirc and Carlton Cole both stepping up their quest for match fitness with some valuable game time here tonight. The home side will be looking towards the talents of former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara who has found himself surplus to requirements of Kenny Jackett's first team.
West Ham United: Spiegel, Chambers, Driver, Potts, Ruddock, Lletget, Turgott, Moncur, Tombides, Sadlier, Cole
Subs: Fanimo, Baxter, Petric, Whitehead, Lee
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Flatt, Kostrna, Ihiekwe, Tank, Cranston, Bancessi, Whittall, Jakobsson, Parry, O'Hara, Reid
Subs: Dutton, Kellerman, Keita, Iorfa, Carter, Erdei