West Ham United Under 18s returned to the summit of the Barclays Under 18 Premier League South courtesy of a 2-1 win at Leicester City.
Djair Parfitt-Williams struck in either half to fire Steve Potts' men to an impressive seventh successive league success.
Victory sees West Ham leapfrog Fulham at the top, who suffered a 3-1 home defeat by Southampton at Motspur Park.
West Ham went in front with 36 minutes gone, when Bermuda-born Parfitt-Williams dispossessed City center-back Sam Jones, before slotting home his eighth league goal of the campaign.
The lead, however, would only last until six minutes after the interval, as Simonas Stankevicius got the better of Manny Onariase and slotted past 'keeper Sam Howes to make it one apiece.
But it was Parfitt Williams who had the final word, collecting from Jamie Harney, skipping beyond the full-back and then driving home the winner with 82 minutes on the clock.
Academy director Tony Carr MBE was impressed with the West Ham United match-winner on the day, while insisting there is still to come from the Bermudian youngster.
"He's a very talented boy," Carr told whufc.com. "He's still coming to terms with the European and British game, as his background is American. "He's only in his first year with us as a scholar and hopefully he can progress. But he's very talented, good on the ball and has got an eye for a goal."
As for the game itself, Carr admitted that conditions had meant that it was hardly the prettiest on the eye, but he was nonetheless thrilled to see the Hammers extend their winning run.
He continued: "It wasn't the best of games in terms of football. It was very windy and a bit of a wobbly pitch. But it was certainly very competitive.
"In the end it was a worthy win, a good win for us and one that keeps the run going. Steve Potts and Mark Phillips, as ever, marshaled the team very well, with a couple of changes from the week before. It obviously paid dividends and the team marches on.
"I think we're playing to our full potential. We've got a very talented team and they're playing very well. But it's only at this moment in time. It's a question of whether they can continue that progression and improvement and take it to the next level, which for them is the U21s and, hopefully, beyond."
With just seven league fixtures remaining, West Ham have their sights firmly set on a top-two finish, one that would secure their spot in the end-of-season national Play-Offs.
"We're sitting in the top two in the league and the national Play-Offs are a nice target to aim toward for the end of the season.
"We're in good form, that's for sure. All runs have to come to an end sometime but we're enjoying at the moment. We go onto Tottenham Hotspur next week and see if we can maintain the same level of performance and hopefully that will turn into a positive result."
|
