West Ham United U23s lead coach Dmitri Halajko is thrileld be back in action and back into the winning habit after his team were victorious as 3-2 winners over Cambridge United at Little Heath.
It was the first pre-season game for the youngsters since mid-March, but they hardly missed a beat with goals from Sean Adarkwa, Amadou Diallo and Mesaque Dju clinching the win.
The match was split into four 30-minute quarters, allowing the managers of both squads to give plenty of players plenty of minutes ahead of the new league season.
“It’s amazing to be back!” Halajko told whufc.com. “So much hard work has gone into getting our lads back so early and in such good shape.
“Ricky Martin [Academy Manager] and the whole Academy management team deserve a huge amount of credit for the time and effort that they put in to get us back not only early, but also to get us back safely.”
“We’re really pleased with how the boys did,” he continued. “We wanted to test ourselves in pre-season and get some tough fixtures in, and we knew that Cambridge United would certainly give us that.
“We equipped ourselves really well, apart from maybe the second period when we lost our way a touch, but the other three we’re really happy with.”
The young Hammers were boosted by the return of senior Academy players Nathan Trott, Dan Kemp and Ajibola Alese, who are back training with the U23s after successful loan spells last term.
“It’s always nice to have them back,” Halajko explained. “The three of them have all gone out on loan and played league football, which is great for them, and now they’ve come back and they can share that experience with some of the younger ones.”
West Ham United U23s continue their pre-season programme with a trip to Leyton Orient on Wednesday 26 September. Kick-off is at 7pm. The match is strictly behind closed doors.
ClaretandHugh says: It’s great to see the Hammers carry on where they left off after a season unbeaten in Premier League 2 Division 2. It’s been two yo yo years with relegation and promotion but they got off on exactly the right foot as they head towards a new season in the top league. This will be a stern test of their credentials and make the best of them even more ready to possible Premier League squad inclusion. Halajko has done a fine job as lead coach and we will be hoping that leading lights among the under 23s – such as Nathan Holland and Xande Silva can make a real impact as we go into a new campaign. Some believe that readying players for the Premier league is the main objective and that winning games . But surely in reality the two things go together. Players become better as they win games so let’s look forward to a strong campaign
What a team … the West Ham und23’s, with their outstanding coach and management.
A good result without some of their main players. Just shows their spirit and team etiquette.
Awesome guys. God bless.