DEVELOPMENT SQUAD v SOUTHAMPTON
BARCLAYS U21 PREMIER LEAGUE
RUSH GREEN STADIUM
FRIDAY 7 MARCH 2014
REFEREE: MICHAEL GEORGE
KICK-OFF: 7PM
Full-time: It's all over here at Rush Green as Mr George blows the whistle for the last time. A fortuitous goal on the stroke of half-time set Liverpool on their way after they were lucky not to find themselves behind. Lee struck a post and Cullen went close in the first half but the Hammers couldn't find a way through. In the second half, a lovely move from the visitors provided their second of the night as Dunn finished off a flowing move. The Hammers gave their all but couldn't break through a solid Liverpool backline. Full-time from Rush Green, West Ham 0-2 Liverpool.
90 mins: Sadlier whips a corner in and a scramble ensues before Potts turns the ball over the bar, possibly the last chance that will fall the Hammers' way tonight.
89 mins: Peterson is ambitious as he drives the ball on target from miles out. Spiegel is equal to it and hoofs the ball upfield.
87 mins: Liverpool have the ball in the net again as Peterson tucks in the rebound from Dunn's long-range effort, but the offside flag is up.
86 mins: Cullen wins a corner after his shot is deflected wide. Lee gets his head to the resulting set piece but Mersin is able to gather.
85 mins: Nasha again involved as he rolls the ball across for Turgott to shoot from range. He strikes one low bit it's never on target and doesn't trouble the keeper.
84 mins: Nasha does brilliantly as he beats two players before teeing up Sadlier for the cross. The winger puts the ball across the front of goal but it evades everyone and goes out of play.
82 mins: Liverpool are now looking to time waste with the ball in the corner. Sadlier however seems eager to not let any second slip by as he steams in to break up the play.
80 mins: The Hammers have to go for it now as we tick into the final ten minutes at Rush Green. Brown and Lee are now up top as they look to apply the pressure.
79 mins: Double change for the home side as Brown and Nasha sprint onto replace Whitehead and Fanimo.
77 mins Goal: Dunn surely settles it with the visitors' second. A lovely move which was started by Lucas saw Lussey slide a through ball for Brannagan who squared the ball first time for Dunn who placed the ball past Spiegel.
75 mins: Turgott wins a corner as Texeira slides in to block the winger's cross. Sadlier whips it in but Lucas is there to meet it and nods clear.
73 mins: Peterson nearly doubles the visitors' lead as he weaves inside the Hammers box and drags his shot just wide of Spiegel's far post.
71 mins: Sakho's down again as he blocks Turgott's cross and concedes a corner. He is taken off this time and replaced by Paez. Meanwhile, Sadlier's corner drifts over everyone and out for a throw-in.
69 mins: The Hammers need to find the same attacking threat which proved effective in the first half as they've created little in the second.
67 mins: Turgott steams into a tackle with Texeira but escapes a caution, meaning we're still yet to see a card produced by Mr George tonight.
65 mins: Nick Haycock makes his first change as he replaces Lletget with Sadlier. The midfielder seemed to limp off indicating the necessity for change.
64 mins: Fanimo gets in behind the defence thanks to Lletget's through ball but blazes his shot miles wide of the target.
62 mins: Sakho takes a tumble under a challenge from Lletgte and he stays down. There are worried looks on the away bench but as yet no substitution.
60 mins: Liverpool are controlling possession now and are quite happy to keep the ball amongst their back four with Lucas occasionally getting involved. They finally go forward only for Smith to send a wild cross over the bar.
58 mins: Lee has been pretty isolated at the start of this half with the home side yet to apply the same pressure which forced Liverpool into mistakes in the first.
56 mins: A lovely passing move, in which the Hammers worked the ball from left to right and back again, comes to an end with Turgott's cross which is easy for Mersin to collect.
54 mins: Knoyle is under pressure as he deliver a cross from the right byline. Mersin gathers easily as the ball floats in his direction.
52 mins: Page and Lee work a quick one-two to set the full-back in behind the defence. He crosses first time from the left-hand side and finds Lee who shoots wide as he stretches for the ball.
50 mins: Peterson bursts into the box to get his head to Smith's cross from the left. He gets up ahead of Potts but his header is straight at Spiegel.
48 mins: The Hammers pen Liverpool into their own half early in the second period as they look to continue the domination they enjoyed in the first half.
46 mins: West Ham kick us off for the second period trailing to a scrappy goal right at the end of the first half.
Half-time: A cruel blow right on the stroke of half-time is all that sees the Hammers behind. The hosts have been superior all over the park so far and have had numerous opportunities to take the lead. The Hammers best chance came when Lee saw his acrobatic effort strike the post, while Whitehead and Cullen have also come close. Really harsh on the home side who've looked comfortable holding Liverpool at arms length. Half-time at Rush Green, West Ham 0-1 Liverpool.
45 mins Goal: Spiegel will not want to see this one again. Nice football from the visitors sees them string together countless passes before Peterson's shot is defelected off Dunn and spins past Spiegel who looked to have it covered.
43 mins: The effort and application has been first class from the Hammers in this first half and they can count themselves unfortunate not to be ahead.
41 mins: As we approach half-time the Hammers come close to opening the scoring once more. Cullen eventually takes the shot after great work from Lletget. He tries to place the ball into the corner but his effort is comfortable for Mersin.
39 mins: Peterson sees an effort go out for a corner after he found space on the edge of the box. Chambers is up at the back post this time to head clear.
37 mins: Great defending by Turgott who tracks Smith all the way back and blocks the cross. The resulting corner is whipped into the area where Lletget meets it and Lee sprints clear.
35 mins: Turgott takes but the ball is cleared at the near post by Peterson.
34 mins: Sakho lunges in on Turgott as he just about touches the ball as it goes out for a corner. Fanimo takes, again to the back stick before Smith puts it out for another corner.
32 mins: Lussey calls Spiegel into action with an effort from the edge of the box but Spiegel deals with it easily enough.
30 mins: Post! Whitehead's free-kick is flicked on by Potts to Lee, who collects on his chest before flicking the ball goalwards only to see his effort hit the post! What a great chance!
29 mins: Fanimo curls it to the back post where Turgott can't direct his effort on target and it goes out for a throw.
28 mins: Whitehead does brilliantly in the middle of the park. He skips away from one before sliding a pass for Knoyle to run onto. The right-back's cross is turned out for a corner.
26 mins: Sakho launches an aerial ball forward looking for Dunn, Chambers is there, however, to intercept and nod the ball back to Spiegel.
24 mins: Sakho brings a smile and a chuckle from the watching Tony Adams as he pulls out a flick to clear the ball from his penalty area. Luckily for Sakho it falls to a teammate and they keep possession.
22 mins: Lee runs into space in front of the back four before he decides to shoot from distance. His effort is hard and low but doesn't have the accuracy to trouble the keepers goal.
20 mins: Awful decision from the officials as Fanimo looks to break down the left. He's slide tackled and the ball clearly comes off Williams before the referee signals a Liverpool throw-in.
18 mins: Smith breaks away down the left after Liverpool benefit from a lucky deflection off Lletget. He feeds Dunn into the left-hand channel before the striker shoots wide from an acute angle.
16 mins: Page now goes haring into a challenge after he over runs the ball. He's late but contact is minimal and he gets away without a card.
14 mins: The Reds have a free-kick just outside the area on the left-hand side. Texeira takes and Potts heads straight to Peterson whose shot is well blocked by the despairing Page.
12 mins: A good spell of possession from the away side ends as Lucas tries to put Smith in over the top but misplaces his lofted pass.
10 mins: Lucas has his first few touches as he looks to settle the visitors into a rhythm. The Brazilian is making his first appearance since an ankle injury which has ruled him out for most of the season.
8 mins: Whitehead tries to repeat his spectacular strike against Southampton, as he throws a beautiful dummy before striking the ball just wide with the outside of his foot. Very positive play so far.
6 mins: What a lively start it's been from the Hammers who look really up for this. Remember, a win tonight would be their third in a row.
4 mins: What a save! Lletget sets Fanimo away down the left and he drives into the box before pulling the ball back for the on-rushing Lee. The striker hits a powerful effort on target but Mersin produces a great diving stop to deny him. From the rebound, Lletget volleys just wide.
3 mins: The corner is whipped and Chambers makes a good block from the rebound before the ball is cleared.
2 mins: Chambers loses possession on the halfway line and Smith sprints away down the left. He attempts a cross but Potts deflects it out for a corner.
Kick-off: Liverpool get us going at Rush Green. Come on you Irons!
6:59pm: The teams are out and undertake the pre-match handshakes.
6:52pm: Tony Adams is in the stands tonight, right in front of me infact. He will no doubt be hoping that some of tonight's players do enough to catch his eye.
6:41pm: The tunes are blaring out at Rush Green as we head towards kick-off. A healthy crowd has come to see a strong Liverpool side take on the in-form Hammers.
6:26pm: A Liverpool team containing Lucas Leiva and Mamadou Sakho have begun their pre-match preparations and are joined by the Hammers.
6:15pm: The keepers are out to commence their warm-ups as the crowd starts to drift in at Rush Green.
6pm: Coverage has begun at Rush Green on a beautiful clear evening. It's a stark contrast to three weeks ago when the rain was pouring and the wind was swirling for the Hammers 1-0 success here against Southampton. We hope the better conditions will see better football tonight.
It's Friday night and the feelings right…oh yes, it's Development Squad night! The young Hammers go in pursuit of their third consecutive win in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League tonight when they welcome Liverpool to Rush Green. Back-to-back wins against Southampton and Reading has put the spring back in the Under-21s step following a disappointing start to 2014. A wonder goal from Elliot Lee and a clinical strike from Blair Turgott earned the Hammers a 2-1 win against the Royals last time out, and propelled Nick Haycock's side to fifth place in the division.
Tonight's visitors Liverpool arrive having suffered a 2-1 defeat to Reading on Monday, their only defeat in four matches following a run of three straight wins which took them to second place in the table. The Reds line-up also includes the returning Lucas Leiva who steps up his comeback from a knee injury at Rush Green. The visitors also have Mamadou Sakho amongst their ranks, with the defender set to play some part in the match. West Ham's starting line-up is unchanged from their win over Reading last time out, with Raphael Spiegel and Kyle Knoyle returning from international duty to start and Reeec Burke taking his place amongst the substitutes.
West Ham United: Spiegel, Knoyle, Potts, Chambers, Page, Whitehead, Cullen, Lletget, Fanimo, Turgott, Lee
Subs: Burke, Nemrava (GK), Sadlier, Nasha, Brown
Liverpool: Mersin, Williams, Smith, Jones, Sakho, Leiva, Peterson, Lussey, Dunn, Brannagan, Texeira
Subs: Paez, Firth, Maguire, Rossiter, Bijev