Ebbsfleet United 2-0 West Ham United
Pre-Season Match, Kuflink Stadium, Tuesday 15 July 2025, 7pm BST
West Ham United’s U21s were defeated 2-0 by Ebbsfleet United in their second outing of pre-season on Tuesday night.
Up against a Fleet side boasting plenty of EFL experience with the likes of Ben Coker, George Moncur, Max Ehmer and Jake Hessenthaler in their ranks, Mark Robson’s men were given a valuable test against senior opposition in north Kent.
Dan Rigge and Josh Ajala both went close before the break, but ultimately a goal in each half from the hosts’ Lennon Peake and Gene Kennedy gave them the spoils.
The young Hammers will now head to Maidenhead United on Saturday for another workout against senior non-league opposition.
The opening stages at Ebbsfleet were evenly contested, but it was the home side who forced the first spell of pressure around the ten-minute mark.
Peake, a former Academy of Football winger, went close with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box, before his teammate Maxx Manktelow was denied by a close-range block by Michael Forbes, and then another ex-Academy man, George Moncur sent a half-volley wide of the mark.
West Ham absorbed that spell of pressure and forced home keeper Gio Bellagambi’s first save of the evening with 16 minutes on the clock as the lively Sean Moore cut inside from the right flank and shot for goal from the edge of the box. His effort took a deflection, but Bellagambi watched it all the way to gather.
Midway through the half, a foul on Hammers left-back Regan Clayton 25 yards from goal gave Dan Rigge the chance to shoot, and he wasn’t far away with a curling right footed effort which just missed the far post.
Just as though it looked as though the interval would come with neither side able to break through, Ebbsfleet edged in front on 37 minutes.
Manktelow’s raking diagonal ball to the right flank found Peake, whose first touch took him inside Forbes and his second found the bottom far corner.
The Irons responded strongly and Josh Ajala struck the base of the left hand post three minutes later from the edge of the box, before Moore danced his way into the area, only to be blocked off by a diving Bellagambi, but Ebbsfleet were able to take their advantage into the break.
Eleven minutes after the restart the Hammers were indebted to a fine stop from Mason Terry, who got down sharply to his left to turn Manktelow’s towering header from a right-wing corner away,
However, the reprieve was only temporary as Ebbsfleet struck again from a second corner from that same flank. This time the Hammers couldn’t smuggle the ball clear and Kennedy slammed the loose ball home from ten yards.
Ryan Battrum had an opportunity to pull one back with 63 minutes on the clock, but was unable to find the target after getting the better of Jamie Fielding in the right back position and bearing down on goal.
With both sides making changes, Ebbsfleet’s greater experience began to tell towards the end, with Aaron Cosgrave going close to a third ten minutes from time as he latched onto a well-directed cross from Ben Chapman, but knocked over the top when well-placed.
Josh Landers had the opportunity to have the final say for the Hammers when he took advantage of a defensive slip to stride clear in the last minute of the 90, but Mark Cousins stood up until the vital moment and dived to his left to save.
Ebbsfleet United: Bellagambi (Cousins 61), Seaman (Fielding 61), Olagunju (Ehmer 61), Nelson (Uma 61), Coker © (Barnes 61), Kennedy (Trialist 83), Manktelow (Edser 61), Peake (Hessenthaler 61), Moncur (Chapman 61), Coley (Cosgrave 61), Samuel (Appiah 61)
Goals: Peake 37, Kennedy 57
West Ham United: Terry, Robinson (Medine 65), Luizão (Oyebade HT), Forbes (Briggs 65), Clayton (Brown 65), Caliste, Akpata © (Hargan HT), Moore (Sowunmi 65), Rigge, Battrum (Cummings 65), Ajala (Landers 65)
Robson pleased with Ebbsfleet workout
For development team lead coach Mark Robson, Tuesday's game at Ebbsfleet served as another valuable lesson for his young side.
With several of the more experienced U21s currently away with Graham Potter's senior squad in Germany, this week's trio of meetings with non-league sides has given the Hammers who have just stepped up from the Under-18s the opportunity to test themselves against senior players.
And although they ended on the wrong end of the result on Tuesday, Robson was pleased with the work they put in - and felt they could have gained more reward.
He said: "We did much, much better than at the weekend at Worthing. We changed our shape today, did a little bit of work with the boys yesterday [on that] and I thought they grasped it really well, particularly first half.
"It was a bit disappointing to have gone behind because I thought we played really well. Then we made some changes at half-time and obviously some more as the game went on, just trying to even out the minutes for the boys for the first few games.
"We kept trying to do the right things, and playing against men, it's really difficult for some of the younger ones. We were probably just overrun a little bit [towards the end], but there were still lots of positives to take out of it.
"I was really pleased with the overall work ethic from the players. It's about getting fit, not just in training but obviously in games as well, to work hard. I felt like we did that really well today."
The Hammers complete their hat-trick of early pre-season contests against National League South outfits when they head to Maidenhead United - managed by Hammers legend Alan Devonshire - at the weekend.
Robson is looking forward to seeing how his young charges react to another similar examination there.
"It's another test on Saturday," he continued. "We'll look at everybody, their game time and what that looks like for everyone.
"Maybe make a few changes with everyone getting a little bit longer, so we even it all out for everybody.
"But it'll be a good challenge - it's a real good challenge for the younger boys. You get to see things from the younger ones who just stepped up from the 18s. Because they're playing against men and they've not done that before.
"In terms of learning and developing with the 21s. I think these games are really important for them, because it's quicker, it's faster, it's more in your face. And they might not be used to that."
