West Ham United Women’s U21s WSL Academy side secured a 4-1 victory over Leicester City on Wednesday afternoon at Little Heath.
Managed by Academy Manager Stephen Opoka, the U21s went into the match knowing that a victory would see them jump above Ipswich Town into sixth place in the Southern Division – whilst their opponents were also looking to make gains as they looked to leapfrog Everton and climb off the foot of the Northern Division.
Sophie Hillyerd and Princess Ademiluyi were the two first teamers that were involved in the contest, with the latter being the one to get the goals rolling on a cloudy afternoon in east London.
The explosive forward opened the scoring on 27 minutes when a long ball from the back wasn’t intercepted by the away side, allowing her to skip beyond the goalkeeper who had rushed out of the 18-yard-box to meet her and convert.
She added a second just over ten minutes later in similar fashion. Again, a long ball from the Hammers wasn’t dealt with efficiently by the Foxes and a short backpass back to the goalkeeper allowed Ademiluyi to steal the ball and score a second for Opoka’s team.
Macey Nicholls added a third before the referee called for half-time. She seized on a long ball in behind, easing her opponent out of possession before slotting in a third.
In the second half, Australia U21 international Milly Boughton scored the fourth and final goal of the contest.
A deep cross from the right hand side from captain Chloe Brand eventually fell to the midfielder and she made no mistake, notching her ninth goal of the season.
You can view a gallery of images from the match above!
Next up, Opoka’s side face Arsenal on Wednesday 19 April 2023.
