West Ham United U21s were knocked out of the competition but the Hammers captain played well and scored a penalty.
A number of West Ham United fans have taken to Twitter to comment on the Hammers Under-21s’ defeat to Exeter in the EFL Trophy, with Joe Powell’s display and goal one of the few bright points.
Dmitri Halajko’s charges went into their final group stage fixture against the Grecians knowing a draw after 90 minutes would be enough to see them join their opponents in the knockout stages.
However, the Hammers were slow out of the starting blocks and were made to pay when a long ball found Joel Randall, who duly rifled home inside the opening 10 minutes.
West Ham did restore parity when Harrison Ashby won a penalty – following Powell’s backheel into his path – which was converted by the captain, but they struggled against their more experienced opponents, who scored twice late on through Randall and Nathan Tillson.
The result means the Hammers development squad missed out on the next round, while the Grecians maintained their 100 percent record, with Newport progressing after their 7-4 win against Cheltenham.
For the Irons, meanwhile, it was a case of close but no cigar, but there was some positive reaction regarding the 21-year-old midfielder at least:
West Ham’s youngsters are back in Premier League 2 action on Friday 22 November against Aston Villa (WHU website).
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