Keeper Anang received a straight red card
West Ham United Under-23s are still without a win after falling 4-2 at home to Liverpool in Premier League 2 this afternoon (Friday).
Two well-worked team goals finished off by Oladapo Afolayan and Mesaque Dju gave them the lead, but the game turned during a difficult spell just after the interval.
Shortly after the restart, Liverpool equalised from a corner, before going ahead from the penalty spot in an incident which saw West Ham goalkeeper Joseph Anang receive a straight red card.
An injury-time strike eventually settled the game in the Reds’ favour, but West Ham U23s lead coach Dmitri Halajko was pleased to see his side still create plenty of chances in the game, even with ten men.
Halajko reflected: “There was plenty of effort and plenty of heart, but also some really naïve mistakes that have cost us goals.
“There was some good desire, some good work rate and some good effort, but the goals we’ve given away again today, you just can’t give away. That’s what’s cost us the game.
“This group of players will always keep fighting. They’ll always keep going. We went down to ten men and lost a goalkeeper, which is a big moment and will turn any football match, but even against that, in adversity, they still kept going and still created chances.
“They still did everything they could to win the game. If it weren’t for some of the silly errors, they still probably had enough to win the game.
“We’ve got to cut them out. We’ve been saying that for a few weeks now but haven’t managed to do it, so it’s an area for concern.”
