Development Squad 0-3 WBA - FT

Full-time: All over at Rush Green as a disappointing night for the home side comes to an end. West Brom were well worth the win but required two chunks of good fortune along the way. Gayle's deflected shot handed them the lead before McCallum slid in to block Francis' shot, only to see it loop over Spiegel and in. Birch made it three with a good finish to wrap up all three points for the visitors.

90+1 mins: Corner on the right to West Ham. Fanimo swings it over and the Hammers have the ball in the net but so is the keeper after West Ham players bundled him in. Free-kick.

90 mins: A couple of minutes added on as the Hammers still search in vain for that elusive goal.

89 mins: Ward decides to run at the home defence this time, leaving Driver in his wake before forcing Spiegel to make a low save to the keeper's right.

87 mins: Daniels heads up front now as he dances past a few West Ham players before firing a shot straight at Spiegel. The centre-back has had a superb game tonight.

85 mins: The game is petering out with West Brom quite content to keep possession and make the home side chase.

83 mins: Fanimo tries to blitz Daniels with his pace but the West Brom defender, as has been the case all night, is just too good for the Hammers front men.

81 mins: Under ten minutes left with the home side still yet to really test Rose in the visitor's goal. Let's hope the Hammers can give their fans something to cheer before the end.

79 mins: Lee is down holding his face after a collision with Gayle. The striker appeared to get a hand to the face but the free-kick went the other way. Bizarre.

78 mins: Gordon's race is run as he heads for the bench to be replaced by Maguire.

77 mins: Play back under-way and the home side needing a big effort to muster anything from this game. McCallum also makes his way into the referee's book as he brings down Wedderburn.

75 mins: O'Sullivan makes way for Ward for the Baggies, as an argument between McCallum and Thorne breaks out.  

74 mins: A bad day at the office so far for the young Hammers who are preparing to make their third and final change.

72 mins: Driver has to be careful, he's on a yellow card and gives away another free-kick. Thorne takes but hits the ball straight at Spiegel.

70 mins: Excellent challenge from McCallum as he slides in to strip the ball from Atkinson who had made his way ominously into the penalty area.

68 mins: Driver is the first name in the book as he slides in to bring down Wedderburn without getting the ball.

67 mins Goal: Birch makes it three as he side foots a Wedderburn cross past Spiegel.  

66 mins: Lee is accused of diving by the West Brom players but the frontman made no appeal as he went down after a nudge in the back.

64 mins: The home side are beginning to become frustrated and have committed a number of fouls in recent minutes.

62 mins: Driver dives in on the edge of the box as he brings down Atkinson. Very close to being a penalty. Thorne shoots from the resulting free-kick but only finds the side netting.

61 mins: The Baggies make their first change, replacing Francis with Orengua.

60 mins: Corner after good work by Gordon. Moncur whips it in and Lletget is up but the ball falls to a West Brom player who tidys up.

59 mins: Shaw jogs on to replace Turgott as Haycock makes his second change.

57 mins: Thorne is controlling the game from the heart of West Brom's midfield and the Hammers need to starve him of the ball.

54 mins: Fanimo has the ball on the left and wins a corner as he attempts to cross. Moncur delivers but O'Neil is the first to it and heads away.

52 mins: Thorne was instrumental in the Baggies second as he played the perfect ball through for Francis, catching the Hammers out.

50 mins Goal: I don't believe it! Poor Paul McCallum puts through his own net as he slides back to block Francis' shot, looping the ball over Spiegel.

49 mins: Turgott wins a corner on the right. Moncur takes and McCallum looks to create some havoc but in the process brings down Daniels and a foul is awarded. Much better from the home team.

48 mins: A very bright start by the Hammers and they muster their first effort on target as Fanimo's cross from the left is met by :Lee who heads it down and straight at the keeper.

46 mins: West Ham kick us off looking to turn the match around and get their first win of 2014.

Half-time: A disappointing half of football from the Hammers comes to an end with the home side one nil down. The Baggies have looked the more threatening of the sides but required some good fortune to go ahead. Gayle will claim the goal but his shot took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Spiegel. Little to get excited about from the Hammers so far, let's hope for better in the second half.

45+2 mins: Corner to the Baggies after a move which consisted of 50 passes seemingly. The set-piece is taken short and breaks down with Driver clearing the danger.

45 mins: Three minutes added on as a promising attack breaks down for West Ham when Lee loses the ball on the edge of the penalty area.

43 mins: Moncur gives away a free-kick in a dangerous position. Thorne steps up and delivers to the penalty spot where Daniels heads wide. It wouldn't have counted anyway as the falg is up.

41 mins: We're approaching half-time but will have some stoppage time due to the injury to O'Neil. Not much to report from the Hammers attacking-wise so far unfortunately.

39 mins: O'Neil returns to the pitch with no harm done as it would seem. The Hammers meanwhile continue to struggle in the final third.

37 mins: The defender is still on the turf as he's examined by the medical team. He eventually rises to his feet and is escorted from the field of play.

36 mins: Gordon receives a talking to after he goes up for a header with O'Neil and leaves the defender requiring treatment.

34 mins: Corner to the Baggies as Driver tackles Wedderburn. Wedeerburn takes but the imposing Spiegel welcomes the ball into his gloves.

33 mins: Daniels nearly plays himself into trouble as Gordon bears down on him, the centre-back does well to turn out of trouble however.

31 mins: An early substitution as Lletget replaces Vaz Te who doesn't look to have sustained any injuries.

29 mins: O'Sullivan has another opportunity as he lines up a shot on the edge of the box before placing it just wide of the post.

28 mins: Lee holds the ball up before turning and running into the box where he crosses with his left foot. The cross is not bad but Daniels is there to meet it.

26 mins: We're yet to see much of the returning Vaz Te who has been starved of service on the left of the front three.

24 mins: The Hammers could go further behind as the Baggies flow forward in numbers. A cross from the right-hand touchline is met on the volley by a flying O'Sullivan who just misses the target.

21 mins: Goal: Gayle puts the visitors ahead as his shot from the edge of the box takes a deflection and wrong foots Spiegel.Very unlucky.

20 mins: This time Whitehead plays the perfect ball out left to Fanimo but the winger goes fractionally too early and is flagged offside.

18 mins: A game of very few oppenings so far with Thorne and Whitehead the latest to misplace passes which could have led to a chance.

16 mins: The visitors certainly don't look like their intimidated by a strong home crowd and are quite happy to get the ball on the deck at every opportunity.  

14 mins: Stoppage in play as Thorne goes down under a challenge from Gordon. Back on his feet quickly though.

13 mins: Wedderburn takes the corner but Vaz Te is there at the near post to clear.

12 mins: A cross by Wedderburn from the left cause Burke to swing a leg at the ball, luckily for the defender it flys just over the bar.  

10 mins: Great play from Lee sets Gordon away down the right but the wideman is adjudged to be offside.

8 mins: There's a bit of rain in the air as West Ham start to find their rhythm with Whitehead and Moncur lively in the opening stages.

6 mins: Thorne has space around ten yards from the Hammers box and decides to try his luck. His right foot shot travels well wide of the post however.

4 mins: Gordon causes the crowd to gasp as he clatters into Daniels but it's a fair challenge.

3 mins: Lots of the ball early on for the away side with Thorne dictating play in the middle of midfield.

1 min: An early header away from the edge of his own area by McCallum who is playing at the heart of defence tonight instead of up front.

Kick-off: We're underway at Rush Green with the visitors kicking off in their black and red stripe away kit.

6:57pm: The teams emerge from the tunnel as the line-ups are read out ahead of kick-off at Rush Green. We're nearly ready to go in this one!

6:45pm: The tunes are on at Rush Green as we count down to kick-off. There is now just 15 minutes left until the start of this one as the crowd pour in.

6:25pm: Tonight's visitors arrive in east London looking to reverse a run of three straight defeats in their first game since December 22. Nick Haycock's Hammers meanwhile have lost only one of their league matches so far and are looking to mount an assault on the league title from their current position of second.

6:10pm: The goalkeepers are out on the Rush Green pitch to begin their warm-ups. The Hammers will be hoping to add to their visitors defensive woes with the Baggies owning the second worst defensive record in the league at present, conceding 27 goals in 11 games.

6.00pm: The team news ahead of tonight's game can be found at the bottom of the page with a familiar face amongst the West Ham United line-up. Ricardo Vaz Te will be making his first competitive appearance since he was injured against Swansea City on 27 October 2013.

A more familiar looking Development Squad welcome West Bromwich Albion to Rush Green tonight as they play their first Barclays Under-21 Premier League game of 2014. The Development Squad, who were knocked out of the U21 Premier League Cup on Monday, was comprised completely of Steve Potts' U18s with the former Hammers defender taking charge for the 2-1 loss. Tonight, Nick Haycock resumes the managerial reins of a team which is looking to build on their start to the league season which has left them handily placed in second position.

Reece Burke is the only player that featured against the Blues to keep his place in the starting line-up with Amos Nasha amongst the substitutes. Fresh from their first team debuts against Nottingham Forest, Callum Driver, Danny Whitehead, Blair Turgott, Matthias Fanimo and George Moncur will play their part from the start whilst Sebastian Lletget is amongst the replacements.

New signing Jaanai Gordon will make his first start for the Development Squad alongside the very familiar face of Ricardo Vaz Te. The return of the Portuguese striker from a shoulder injury is a very welcome one and Hammers fans who turn up at Rush Green will be hoping to see the frontman come through unscathed.

West Ham United: Spiegel, Driver, Fanimo, Whitehead, Burke, McCallum, Turgott, Moncur, Lee, Gordon, Vaz Te
Subs: Baxter, Lletget, Maguire, Shaw, Nasha

West Bromwich Albion: Rose, Gayle, Atkinson, Thorne, Daniels, O'Neil, Francis, Birch, Jones, O'Sullivan, Wedderburn
Subs: Palmer, Orenuga, Wright, Ward, Jones