Under 23 3 - 0 West Ham U23 (Abandoned at HT) - Match Report

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Match abandoned due to fog

WHAT HAPPENED

Adverse weather conditions forced a half-time abandonment of our Premier League 2 fixture against West Ham United on Monday night.

Goals from Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Dinos Mavropanos had given Freddie Ljungberg's side a three-goal lead at the break on an evening where Henrikh Mkhitaryan made his return to action after seven weeks out with a foot injury.

And then came the fog. In truth, by the time Mavropanos scored our third goal just before the break, visibility had severely dropped at Meadow Park.

But despite the premature end to the game, there were plenty of positives to take - notably Mkhitaryan's return and some of the all-round thrilling attacking football on display.

Bukayo Saka had the first chance of the evening, but his powerful effort was blocked, before Mkhitaryan’s low drive from 30 yards forced Joseph Anang into a difficult save.

Shortly after, Saka raced down the left wing and cannoned an effort against the crossbar. But this only encouraged us to push on more, with Nketiah breaking the deadlock less than a minute later.

Xavier Amaechi charged down the right and picked out the 19-year-old inside the box, who applied a delicate finish at the near post.

We continued to target the right side of this Hammers' defence, and this brought about a quick-fire second. Jordi Osei-Tutu cut the ball back from the byline, and Willock was there to apply a first time finish.

Mavropanos chipped in with a goal before the break after latching onto a loose ball and converting from close range, but this would prove to be the final piece of action at Meadow Park.