West Ham United U23 midfielder Joe Powell admitted his side are desperate to beat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur again when they visit the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Monday night.
The Hammers were 3-2 winners over the north Londoners back in August, coming from two goals down to claim the three points at the hosts’ training ground.
And, having lost 1-0 to Sunderland a week ago in Dagenham, the U23s are looking to bounce back in Premier League 2 and Powell believes beating Spurs would be the perfect way to do that.
He said: “Beating Spurs is always something that, as rivals, we love to do. For those of us that played in the game earlier this season, it was one we all remember.
“We didn’t have a great first 45 minutes over there and we went two goals down, but in the second half, we showed all our character and came out with fight and drive.
“Managing to eventually come out on top and win the game was great.
“It’s a massive game on Monday. Last week, our second half performance was good although we lost the game and if we can perform throughout the whole 90 minutes like we did in that half, we have a big chance of taking the three points.”
Beating Spurs is always something that, as rivals, we love to do
Joe Powell
Any kind of sloppiness that has crept into the Hammers’ game in recent weeks will need to be eradicated if they are to get back to winning ways this week, Powell thinks.
“Most of our errors were made in the first half against Sunderland,” he continued. “There were glimpses of us being sloppy and not taking care of possession.
“Not taking our opportunities as well – they were the two big things in the game that we didn’t do so well. So were looking to cut that out against Tottenham.
“Spurs will get the ball on the grass and try to play as much as possible and take risks, so with our attacking strength and the rest of the team backing them up that’s something we will try to exploit.
“Hopefully if we can do all that and these things all come together, we can win the game and I’m sure it will be another memorable match.”
Season Ticket Holders and Claret Members can attend Monday’s London derby – which kicks-off at 7pm at the Chigwell Construction Stadium – free of charge.
Otherwise, tickets are priced at £5 for adults and £3 for concessions and are available to purchase on the gate.