Elisha Sowunmi netted a hat trick as West Ham’s U18 side sealed a 4-1 win against Reading securing back to back wins in the league.

Following an excellent win against Spurs the previous weekend, the Hammers confidence was clear to see from the first minute. The Hammers created a number of chances early on and were relentless going forward, so it was no surprise when they took the lead 15 minutes in. Adiele was brought down in the box, he then stepped up and took the penalty himself which he dispatched, sending Reading keeper Josh Welland the wrong way to put West Ham ahead.

The young Hammers almost doubled their lead soon after as Gabriel Caliste’s effort from the edge of the box was cleared off the line. As the game hit the half an hour mark Reading had a couple of opportunities of their own. Carter Bowdery’s effort went just wide of the post, before Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith, who was under pressure from Aaron Kamara fired his strike wide, squandering another great chance for Reading.

Reading were made to pay for their missed chances after Sowunmi curled a lovely first time effort into the far corner to put the young Hammers 2-0 up.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half West Ham were awarded another penalty. Sowunmi took the spot kick and fired it into the roof of the net to give his side a three goal advantage and give the Hammers some breathing space. A little before the hour mark, Reading would find a lifeline and get a goal back thanks to a strike low into the far corner from Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith.

The standout goal from Sowunmi’s hat trick would come in the 89th minute. Aaron Kamara played a ball through to Joe Scanlon who bombed down the left wing and into space and found Sowunmi in the box who was faced off by two Reading defenders. The forward took the ball on to his left foot and let fly with a rocket of a shot into the bottom corner and past Reading’s keeper to seal a dominant 4-1 win for the Hammers.

Speaking to the Club’s official website after the game, U18’s lead coach Lauris Coggin discussed how the win against Reading is a result of the hard work his side have put in since the start of the season: “I thought it was a really professional performance. We were dominant throughout, especially in the first half. The boys are now getting the results that they deserve because of the hard work they’ve put in since the start of the season. It’s been really positive. We had a good win over Spurs last weekend, and we were able to solidify that against Reading today.”