 Remy Coddington was an unused substitute as his West Ham United Under-18 teammates were unfortunate to concede a late goal against Fulham Under-18s, condemning them to a 2-1 loss and a third straight league defeat to start of the season.
The young Irons went into the match against last season’s U18 Premier League South champions looking to build on a promising second half against Chelsea last time around, and they successfully carried that momentum into the early stages at Little Heath.
Fulham ‘keeper Damian Las was much the busier custodian in the opening exchanges, with the Hammers testing him from long range and generally having the better of the play as they pushed for a first lead this season.
When West Ham’s goal did arrive, it did so in admittedly fortuitous circumstances: on 20 minutes, Kai Corbett floated a free-kick towards goal and Las allowed the ball to squirm through his legs, sliding beneath his grasp and into the net.
Disappointingly, however, Fulham were level within two minutes, a well-worked goal seeing Luke Harris clinically converting after a powerful cross made its way through to the back post.
A bitty, but even, game ensued in east London, with clear-cut chances largely at a premium.
Following the interval, West Ham made another strong start to the half and Michael Forbes, Kamarai Simon-Swyer, and Christian Veliky all came close before the hour mark, only to be denied by last-ditch Fulham defending.
Coddington entered the match in the 71st minute, however, the game could have changed when with 15 minutes remaining when a counter-attack led by Fulham’s Ibane Bowat led to a penalty being awarded, but West Ham shot-stopper Krisztian Hegyi made a good save down the middle of the goal to deny Mika Biereth.
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