West Ham United U18s made it three consecutive league wins in a row on Saturday morning as they overpowered Southampton U18s 5-0.
An early Mipo Odubeko strike had put West Ham in control at the break, before the forward was able to complete his first hat-trick for the club during the second period.
Kamarai Swyer and Kai Corbett were also on target for Kevin Keen’s side at a chilly Staplewood Training Ground.
The win sees the young Hammers rise to third in the U18 Premier League South table, having played a game more than Brighton & Hove Albion in fourth.
It was also a real bonus to get our first clean sheet of the season, it’s something we’ve worked on a lot and we’re really pleased to perform well defensively ahead of the FA Youth Cup against Charlton next week.
Mark Phillips
West Ham were in front after just seven minutes through Odubeko. The 17-year-old forward fired in from close range with his left-foot, leaving Oliver Wright in the Southampton goal with little chance.
The remainder of the first half turned into a scrappy affair and Southampton could have found themselves level from the penalty spot. Krisztian Hegyi, however, produced a low save of real quality that saw West Ham head into the break with a slender advantage.
Shortly after the restart, Odubeko had his second of the game after positive work from Keenan Appiah-Forson. The Hammers' striker again made no mistake with his finish from inside the box to double the U18s advantage.
Odubeko then turned provider for West Ham’s third of the match, laying on Kamarai Swyer for West Ham’s third of the game and the midfielder's own third of the season.
The U18s were able to stretch their lead further in the closing stages when Odubeko completed his hat-trick with another left-footed effort, before Kai Corbett added a fifth in injury time.
U18s Assistant coach Mark Phillips praised the youngsters' second-half performance after the comprehensive victory.
“It was a great result,” he said. “We found it quite difficult in the first half and we weren’t that pleased with how we were playing, but in the second half we had much more purpose and I think that’s as good as we’ve played this season.
“It’s a really good time to get a win like that because we want to see the boys implementing what we work on in training. In the second half we managed to play 15-20 yards higher up the pitch and made it much more difficult for our opposition.”
Phillips was also pleased that the U18s managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season.
“It was also a real bonus to get our first clean sheet of the season," he confirmed.
"It’s something we’ve worked on a lot and we’re really pleased to perform well defensively ahead of the FA Youth Cup against Charlton next week.”
Next up for West Ham United U18s is their all-important FA Youth Cup 3rd Round clash with London rivals Charlton Athletic. Kick-off at the Chigwell Construction Stadium in Dagenham is at 7pm on Friday 13 December.
West Ham United U18s: Hegyi, Greenidge (Fevrier 64), Okotcha, Nsumbu, Caiger, Forson, Nebyla, Simon-Swyer (Corbett 59), Peake, Odubeko, Parkes (Gileba 83’)
Subs not used: Sanneh
Goals: Odubeko 7’, 47’, 84’, Simon-Swyer 50’, Corbett 90’
