West Ham United’s scholars fell to a fifth U18 Premier League South defeat in a row on an emotional day at Leicester City, losing narrowly 2-1.
The young Hammers visited the King Power Stadium prior to kick-off, laying a wreath and paying their respects to Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the four other victims of the recent helicopter tragedy.
Jack Collison’s squad then travelled the short distance to the Foxes’ training ground, where a minute’s silence was held in memory of those who died the previous weekend.
For us, it was an honour to go down there before the match, lay a wreath and take some time to reflect on things and take it all in
Jack Collison
“It was a tough game at the weekend for a number of circumstances,” Collison said. “It was a privilege to be able to go down to the King Power to pay our respects and I think, for us, it just puts everything into perspective. Yes, we love football and it’s a massive part of our lives, but there are bigger things to think about.
“For us, it was an honour to go down there before the match, lay a wreath and take some time to reflect on things and take it all in.”
When the game began at 12noon, Leicester went ahead within seven minutes through Ethan Fitzhugh.
There were no further goals until the 71st minute, when Terell Pennant converted Will Russ’s pass to put the hosts two goals to the good.
Schoolboy Jayden Fevrier, 15, halved West Ham’s arrears with seven minutes to play by scoring his first goal at U18 level.
But, despite the Hammers’ efforts to fashion a late equaliser, Leicester held on to secure their fourth consecutive league win.
“It was a very tight game,” said Collison. “Either team could have won, but we’re just on a run at the moment and we came out on the end of another defeat.
“Once again, it was great to see more schoolboys have opportunities to play. Kai Corbett came on and Serine Sanneh, Joel Wilson-Esbrand, Jamal Baptiste and Jayden Fevrier all started, so we ended the game with five schoolboys on the pitch.
“Looking ahead to this weekend, it’ll be slightly different as there is no U23s game, so it will give us the opportunity to get one or two more-experienced players back.”
Collison’s youngsters will seek to return to winning ways when they host Manchester City at Little Heath on Saturday 10 November in U18 Premier League Cup Group E.
The Irons are bottom of their group after losing 3-0 at Blackburn Rovers in their opening group-stage fixture and need a win over Gareth Taylor’s City to give themselves a realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages.
Kick-off at Little Heath is at 11am, with admission and parking both free of charge.
West Ham United U18s: Sanneh, Ngakia (Dalipi 76), Mingi (Appiah-Forson 57), Okotcha (c), Baptiste, Fevrier, Stroud, Spirides (Corbett 70), Johnson, Parkes
Subs not used: Roach (GK), McGeachy