Fulham U18s 3-4 West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South Division, Motspur Park, Saturday 10 February, 11am GMT
West Ham United U18s returned to the top of the U18 Premier League South table with a hard-fought, thrilling 4-3 victory at Fulham.
The Irons, so defensively strong this season, found themselves behind twice, but showed grit and resilience to extend their winning league run to six games.
Callum Osmand opened the scoring against the run of play before Daniel Rigge levelled for the Hammers five minutes later.
Fulham then regained their lead almost instantly from the penalty spot, and Josh Ajala restored parity on the stroke of half-time.
Ajala fired the Hammers ahead after 66 minutes with a near-post finish. Tyron Akpata doubled West Ham's advantage from close range soon after.
Osmand grabbed his second to hand the hosts a lifeline, but it could not ignite a fightback as the Irons defended resolutely to seal three vital points.
Kevin Keen’s team started positively, playing with energy and purpose, with Fulham having goalkeeper Dino Kaiser to thank for producing a string of fine saves to frustrate the Hammers in the early exchanges.
The Irons should have been in front after 13 minutes when Emeka Adeile's low cross was met by Ajala, but his effort was brilliantly tipped over the crossbar at full stretch.
Fulham continued to weather the early storm as Kaiser made further crucial saves to deny Elisha Sowunmi, Ajala and Jethro Medine.
But despite the visitors’ early control, it was Fulham who took the lead against the run of play. Chibby Nwoko freed Osmand and he rifled an angled drive into the far corner.
West Ham responded well and levelled when Rigge received a pass from Adeile inside the box, seeing his deflected effort loop into the net.
However, the home side restored their lead when Akpata pushed Ma’kel Bogle-Campbell over inside the area and Tom Olyott fired the resulting spot kick into the bottom corner.
The Irons continued to threaten a route back into the game, and the impressive Adeile was in instrumental form once more. The Hammers found a second leveller after 42 minutes as another inch-perfect cross from the left-back found Ajala, who prodded home from close-range.
The home side started the second half the brighter, as Lemar Gordon’s curling effort forced a great save from Finlay Herrick, before a last-ditch challenge prevented Fulham regaining the lead for a third time.
And as the Irons began to gradually gain the upper hand, they punished the young Cottagers’ profligacy after 66 minutes when Ajala went on a long, mazy run diagonally from the left and fired past Kaiser at the near post.
The visitors doubled their advantage six minutes later. Akpata was given space and time inside the box and his close-range effort went through the legs of Kaiser.
Osmand scored his second of the afternoon as he turned home Bradley Slade’s cross to set up a tense finale.
And the Fulham striker was twice denied a hat-trick in stoppage time. Firstly, when he latched onto a long ball forward, but was thwarted by the legs of Herrick, before the Hammers goalkeeper tipped a long-range piledriver over the bar.
West Ham United U18s: Herrick, Medine, Adeile (Umolu 56), Briggs, Mayers, Oyebade, Akpata ©, Caliste (Kamara 68), Rigge, Ajala (Halim 81), Sowunmi (Dike 68)
Subs not used: Abraham
Goals: Rigge (33), Ajala (42, 66), Akpata (73)
Booked: Umolu
Coggin praises Hammers’ resilience
U18s assistant head coach Lauris Coggin took pleasure in watching his side show their individual qualities.
The U18s moved to the top of the Premier League South Division table with another three points and have a game in hand on rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
“We are really pleased and I think it sums up the resilience and togetherness that we’ve got within the group," he explained. "It is always tough to come to Fulham as they have got real quality.
“I thought the way we approached the game in the first-half especially was brilliant. We showed quality, control, stuck to the game plan and [the players] showed their individual qualities. It was a real pleasure to watch.
“We’ve got a brilliant back line. They all put their bodies on the line to fight for the team and each other and that’s something exceptional, especially at this age.
“It shows how strong we are with our values. The players we’ve got in the dressing room are a tight-knit group and stick to what we are trying to achieve on the pitch and I think today’s result was all those things put together.”
Daniel Rigge: We put our bodies on the line
'An important win' was the assessment from U18s midfielder Daniel Rigge.
The 17-year-old netted his sixth goal of the campaign on Saturday and is hoping to add more as the season progresses.
He said: “I think it was quite tough in the first half going behind, but I thought we showed a good mentality to come from behind twice. We’ve got a talented group here and today was the first of three massive games coming up for us.
“We showed a lot of character. We have been working well in training every week and that showed today.
“We work on our defence a lot and they’ve been excellent this season. I think it showed in the last ten minutes as everyone put their bodies on the line to get the three points.
“My stats this season have been good but I’ve got to keep scoring, assisting and helping the team.”
Up Next
West Ham United U18s are next in action against Chelsea on Tuesday 13 February.
Kick-off is set for 12pm at Little Heath.
