Goalkeeper Stefan Tarnovanu admits there was a ‘huge difference’ between FCSB and a youthful West Ham United side during Thursday’s 3-0 defeat to David Moyes’ side in the UEFA Conference League, speaking to ProSport.
Considering Moyes’ commitment to blooding the next generation of claret-and-blue prospects, it perhaps no surprise to see a fleet of teen talents included on the team sheet for the sixth and final group-stage fixture in Romania.
What did come as a bit of a shock, however, was the extent of the gulf in class between a much-changed West Ham and an FCSB outfit who were a distant second best throughout on home soil.
“The conclusion is that we still have work to do,” says Tarnovanu, who kept the scores level before being beaten by a Pablo Fornals double and a deflected header from 18-year-old Divin Mubama.
“We are far from ‘big football’. It was shown tonight that West Ham can play with the juniors. We saw players born in 2004. (There was) a huge difference. A difficult match. A very good team.”
West Ham United thrash FCSB in the UEFA Conference League
West Ham are now the first team in Confernce League history to win six out of six group-stage games. A comfortable victory never looked in doubt either, despite the absence of many a regular starter.
Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Kurt Zouma were among those given a well-deserved rest
“We played a team that came with only half a good team. We tried, but we lost 3-0. They are better (than us),” adds FCSB caretaker coach Mihail Pintilii.
“I wanted a better attitude from the boys. We are not going through a good moment. I hope with all my heart (that we regain confidence).”
Fornals doubled and then tripled his season’s tally inside 25 minutes in Bucharest. 16-year-old Ollie Scarles, meanwhile, was outstanding on the left-hand side; producing the kind of pinpoint crosses Aaron Cresswell would have been proud of.
And, with three points and three goals in the bag, Moyes seized the opportunity to hand first-team minutes to Harrison Ashby, Freddie Potts, Keenan Appiah-Forson, Kamarai Swyer and Kaelan Casey in the second half.
The Scot has now handed out 16 debuts to academy graduates at the London Stadium.
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