West Ham’s U21 side made it five wins from five games in the league after a 2-1 win at home against Blackburn Rovers. The win took Mark Robson’s side up to third in the PL2 table.

Before the game kicked off a minute of silence was held in remembrance of West Ham legend Ronnie Boyce. ‘Ticker’, as he was known, passed away earlier this week at the age of 82. Boyce made 341 appearances for the Hammers, scoring the winning goal in the 1964 FA Cup final, he was also part of the West Ham side that lifted the 1965 European Cup Winners Cup.

He also won the 1975 and 1980 FA Cups as a member of the Club’s coaching staff. A true Hammers icon who dedicated 34 years of his life to the football club and will be fondly remembered.

West Ham’s U21’s began the game well and asserted their dominance early into the game. Goals in the first half from Kamarai Swyer and Lewis Orford put the Hammers in control.

Blackburn halved the deficit early in the second half, making it 2-1 thanks to a goal from Joe Boggan, giving the visitors hope of mounting a comeback. Despite a nervy end to the game after some late pressure, Mark Robson’s side held on to secure the three points. The Hammers are now up to third in the table, this being their highest league position since October.

Reflecting on his side’s performance after the game, U21’s lead coach Mark Robson said: “We probably should have put the game to bed by half time. It was a really pleasing first half performance.”

Happy with the win and pleased with his side’s first half performance, Robson went on to admit that the second half performance was below par: “We got a bit lucky, I think, second half. We didn’t play as well and nowhere near as good as we did in the first. But we saw the game out in the end and have come away with another win.”

The young Hammers have some good momentum behind them. With five wins from five in the PL2, they are taking some excellent form into these later stages of the season. That being said, as highlighted by Mark Robson, in their win against Blackburn the Hammers should have put the game to bed a lot sooner and their performances levels dropped in the second half.

This shows that there is still room for improvement from the U21’s. Consistency is key, with their good form in mind, their current position of third, the Hammers have a great chance to compete for top spot between now and the end of the season.