- Academy Director was left delighted as his Hammers PL2 side were 1-0 winners against Middlesbrough at the Riverside
- The youngsters battled hard to go home with all three points
- Moses Makasi was dismissed late on but it was Jahmal Hector-Ingram’s strike which sealed the win
Terry Westley had nothing but praise for his young West Ham United PL2 side as they made the long trip up north to beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Friday night.
Jahmal Hector-Ingram’s first half strike sealed the three points for the Hammers who fought and battled hard all night to keep out their north eastern opponents.
And though Westley admitted his outfit’s usual passing style was not quite there at the Riverside Stadium, he explained why he was so pleased nonetheless.
“It was as good as we’ve played but for different reasons,” the Academy Director said. “We didn’t quite have the style or panache that we’ve had in other games, but in terms of seeing a response from the Villa game, we really got that.
“From that dogged defensive display was good to see. We had that steeliness about us tonight which went missing against Aston Villa.
“Five our our players out there can play in the youth team still, and that’s an outstanding result tonight.
“Early on, we were up against it, and we couldn’t get a foothold in it. But we remained solid and sensible and the performance was built on that. Slowly in the first half, we got the possession. It was 52-48 to us first half.”
A late sending off for Moses Makasi after a second bookable offence saw the Irons hanging on in the last ten minutes, but they remained strong at the back to see off Boro, who could have gone level on points with the visitors had they won the game.
“We had to defend and get people behind the ball,” continued Westley. “Overall, we grew into the game and in Marcus Browne and Domingos Quina, we had the outstanding players on the pitch.
“The goal was a typical one. The defender smashed the ball clear and Jahmal made something happen at the other end and scored.
“I left out more senior players in Sam Ford and Jaanai Gordon for an U18 player in Jahmal but he deserved that, because he’s been scoring goals down there. Nobody is guaranteed a place in our team, and these U18 players are pushing.
“It just shows you what a very good result it was tonight.”