West Ham United U21s 0-2 Atlético Sanluqueño
Pre-Season Match, Fairplay Golf & Spa Resort, Benalup-Casas Viejas, Spain, Friday 1 August 2025, 9.30am BST
West Ham United U21s were unable to cap their pre-season tour of southern Spain with a win as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against a combative Atlético Sanluqueño side in Benalup-Casas Viejas.
Mark Robson’s side looked to build on a positive showing against Northampton Town and enjoyed encouraging spells in the opening 45 minutes, dictating the tempo with confident play in possession and limiting the Spanish team to very few clear openings.
Despite their control, West Ham found it difficult to generate sustained momentum in a first half frequently disrupted by fouls and stoppages. Nonetheless, the young Hammers defended well against a series of set-pieces and went in level at the break.
The second period followed a similar pattern, with the home side continuing to interrupt play and look for openings through direct play. Finley Hooper, introduced at the interval, was called into early action and made a solid save to keep the scores level, while Regan Clayton went close at the other end after being picked out inside the area.
But it was Sanluqueño who found the breakthrough midway through the half, exploiting a loose moment in West Ham’s high line to create a two-on-one situation. Germán Cardona finished the move confidently, and the forward doubled the advantage minutes later after being played in by Israel González.
Both sides ended with ten men following an altercation on the halfway line to give a frustrating conclusion to a positive week in southern Spain.
West Ham United U21s: Terry (Hooper HT), Robinson, Clayton, Caliste (Briggs 65), Luizão, Mayers (Oyebade 65), Battrum, Akpata ©, Ajala, Rigge (Sowunmi 69), Adiele (Landers 65)
Subs not used: Medine, Hargan
Atlético Sanluqueño: Kudakovskiy (Domínguez 32), Sola (Martínez 36), Cabrera © (Rodríguez HT), Ronald (Trapero HT), Arruabarrena (Barea HT), Feria (González HT), Caminos (Sarkic HT), Val (Diallo HT), Boubacar (Gallastegi HT), Cano (Ulric), Morales (Cardona 55), Gómez (Ángel)
Subs not used: Castellano, Satoca, Andrade, Martínez, Hoyos
Goals: Cardona 74, 78
Robson: They made it a scrappy game, but we're happy with the week overall
The nature of Friday morning’s contest in Benalup-Casas Viejas left much to be desired from a developmental perspective, with Mark Robson’s young Hammers finding themselves drawn into a stop-start affair that failed to settle into any rhythm.
Frequent fouls and prolonged stoppages made it difficult for West Ham United U21s to build any consistent momentum, as a fiercely combative Atlético Sanluqueño side disrupted play throughout the 90 minutes.
It was far from the ideal environment for a pre-season fixture and after the final whistle, Robson expressed his disappointment.
“We just had a boxing match, really,” he reflected. “It was incredibly scrappy, with no real flow to the game at all.
"They were a very cynical team, stopping us at every moment and from a development point of view, it wasn’t what we want at this stage of pre-season.
"But we’re really pleased with the work ethic shown throughout by the boys during the week and pre-season as a whole. They've shown a great desire to improve."
