West Ham win on penalties to reach final

The West Ham under 21’s have won their semi final against Greek side Panathinaikos in Holland this afternoon to reach the final.

Tournament organisers say West Ham were the attacking team for the majority of the game, but the Greek defense appeared hard to beat. Three minutes before full time Panathinaikos scored and they celebrated the goal as if it were the decider in the Tournament final.

The West Ham youngsters tried to get the ball into the box as many times as possible late in injury time. It paid off and in the very last second of injury time a Greek foul resulted in a penalty for the Hammers. West Ham new boy , Antonio Martínez stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 1-1.

After extra time the results was still a stalemate but the Hammers won 5-3 on penalties to reach the Tournament final which kicks off at 2.45pm this afternoon.West Ham now face Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense in the final.

The annual ICTG youth tournament is being played in Uitgeest, northern Holland. The Hammers won all three games in Pool A on Saturday against Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro, Dutch teams AZ Alkmaar and FC Uitgeest.