**West Ham U17s have been crowned Premier League Cup champions after defeating Blackburn Rovers 3-2 last night.**
The cup is a competition where youth sides from Premier League and Championship clubs compete against each other to be declared the best side in their age category.
West Ham finished top of their group in the competition, winning all of their games against Norwich, Spurs and Ipswich. Following knockout-stage wins against Leicester City and Crystal Palace, they faced Blackburn away in the final.
The Hammers opened the scoring on the night through 15-year-old Jude Longman, who was born a week before West Ham’s 4-0 League Cup win over Manchester United in 2010 (aka the “Jonathan Spector game”).
The Irons’ No. 10 hit a sweet left-footed strike into the bottom corner to give his side the lead on 12 minutes. But six minutes later, Rovers were level through Oliver Flynn’s impressive finish on the swivel.
Things got worse for the Hammers when they conceded again just before half-time. The Irons went into the interval chasing the game.
But West Ham responded strongly in the second half and found an equaliser just before the hour mark. Joel Kerr played a superb ball down the line to Joe Scanlon, who put the ball on a plate for Chuk Obi. The No. 9 made no mistake from close range to level the tie.
Rovers piled on the pressure but couldn’t find a way through. Ultimately, it was West Ham who had the last laugh. After some great work from Obi, the striker played the ball back to Harry Montague. The full-back’s pinpoint cross found Kerr, whose header flew past Harry Holt in the Rovers’ goal.
It was a huge moment for the young Hammer, as the 89th-minute strike proved the winner. There were jubilant scenes in Lancashire as Luke Smith’s side lifted the cup. West Ham are now the only club to win the competition at U17, U18 and U21 level.
There hasn’t been too much to cheer about this season for West Ham fans, but last night was yet another triumph for the academy.
Given this cup triumph, the U21s’ excellent National League Cup run, and the number of first-team debuts given to academy players this season, it has been a wonderful campaign for West Ham’s youth players. Long may it continue.