The young Hammers did find a consolation goal deep into stoppage time when Kanté, lively since his introduction from the bench, intercepted high up the pitch and struck low into the corner for his second goal in Claret and Blue, ensuring West Ham’s efforts were reflected on the scoresheet.

The U21s return to action next Friday with another Premier League 2 away fixture, this time against Sunderland.

 

Manchester City U21s: Wint, Samuel, Noble, Mfuni, McFarlane, Fapetu (Dada-Mascoll 82), McAidoo (Muir 75) J. Heskey ©, Oboavwoduo (Lawrence 75), Mukasa, R. Heskey (Sangaré 75)
Sub not used: Brits (GK)

Booked: McFarlane

Goals: McAidoo 43, R. Heskey 58, Oboavwoduo 69

 

West Ham United U21s: Herrick, Briggs, Golambeckis ©, Mayers, Robinson, Akpata (Clayton 60), Fearon (Akpata 79), Rigge (Ajala 60), Battrum (Caliste 81), Adiele, Antonio (Kanté 60)
Sub not used: Hooper (GK)

Booked: Clayton, Robinson, Battrum

Goal: Kanté 90+5

 

Robson: We need to trust our quality more on the ball

After the final whistle, lead coach Mark Robson praised his side’s defensive discipline but admitted that a lack of belief in possession ultimately proved costly against the defending champions.

He said: “I’ve got to say, I thought the boys defended really well in the first half. We limited them, made it difficult for them to find gaps, and I felt we were in good shape defensively.

“Fin Herrick was excellent again, not just with his shot stopping but also with the ball at his feet. He’s had a really strong start to the season.

“The biggest disappointment for me tonight, and I said it to the boys afterwards, is that I thought we lacked a bit of belief in possession. We’ve got some really good players who are comfortable on the ball and know how to keep it, but we gave it away too many times.

“Against a side like City, if you keep doing that, eventually they’re going to find those moments. It’s a massive learning curve for us, and I’ve got to say City were impressive.

“When we did play with belief in the last 20 minutes, you saw that we were able to cause them problems. But it wasn’t enough. We needed to do more of that from the start.”