- Forward Jahmal Hector-Ingram was pleased with the Development Squad’s performance vs. Southend
- The striker grabbed the Hammers’ second in a 3-2 defeat
- He outlined his hopes for the season after the clash
The U21s were narrowly beaten 3-2 by the League One outfit, but displayed plenty of spirit in the second half to almost recover from going three goals down.
The Hammers’ second was scored by Hector-Ingram, who was delighted to find the back of the net against the Shrimpers.
He said: “It feels good to score and it always feels nice to get a goal, especially in pre-season. It’s good to try and get off the mark as quickly as possible.
“I actually thought we were going to pull it back to equalise in the end, after we had got it back to 3-2. In the end, it was unlucky and it wasn’t meant to be but all our lads showed great character.
“The side we were facing were an experienced team with Football League players in, so most definitely, the performance gives us a lot of confidence.”
Phil Brown’s men provided a physical test for the youngsters, who looked down-and-out at 3-0 shortly after the half time break.
But Anthony Scully’s penalty gave Terry Westley’s side – who travel to the Netherlands on Sunday – hope and Hector-Ingram reduced the deficit further. The forward went on to explain his mentality after performing well against the third tier outfit.
“It shows us things like perhaps if we can compete with these players, we are good enough to potentially come here for a loan or something,” continued the 17-year-old. “We can achieve the same things so the display we showed was quite promising today.
“The game was brilliant preparation for us ahead of the Holland trip, too. Every individual in our team has been working so hard this summer. So far, this is the best pre-season I’ve had at this Club and I’ve been here for many years now. Everyone is ready for Holland.”
Ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, Hector-Ingram also discussed his personal hopes for the season.
“I want to be with the 21s as much as I can this year. I’m seeing all these youngsters from all around the world and even the Premier League getting some sort of first team opportunity and shining.
“That leaves me thinking, why not?”