West Ham United’s under-21s took on Athletic Bilbao in the Premier League International Cup on Wednesday night.
The West Ham academy is one of the very best around, and the production line keeps on producing some of the most elite young talents in the country.
West Ham are well renowned for doing exactly that. ‘The Academy of Football‘ was a moniker given to West Ham initially by the British press, after we produced the likes of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst in the 60’s.
More recently, the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Mark Noble and Declan Rice have all come through the Hammers academy.
And currently, West Ham have the likes of Lewis Orford, George Earthy, Freddie Potts, Josh Ajala and Ollie Scarles amongst our ranks.
However, a new name has come to prominence, but this time he’s a player who we actually didn’t produce in our academy.
He actually came from non-league…
West Ham teenager scores brace for under-21s vs Bilbao
The Hammers youngsters drew 2-2 with the Spanish outfit at Rush Green Stadium on Wednesday night.
It was a lively contest, and Mark Robson would have been happy with the point in the end after Bilbao dominated the first-half.
The tide turned for the Hammers when Robson brought Brad Dolaghan on as a second-half substitute.
The 19-year-old bagged a brace, with his goals coming in the 52nd and 82nd minutes.
The Hammers signed the 19-year-old striker from National League South side Worthing in the summer, after a successful trial period with the club.
And it seems like the teenager has something special about him.
Dolaghan seems to have the physicality needed to succeed at the very highest level of the game, and he is clearly an extremely competent finisher.
The teenager spoke to reporters after the match, and shared his delight at scoring twice for the youth team, as quoted by WHUFC.com.
He said, “At half-time, it wasn’t looking too good, so I’m delighted we got something out of the game. When you’re not starting, it’s all about staying hungry and taking the opportunities when they come. When I got called at the break by Gel [Gerard Prenderville] to get my shirt on, I was ready.
“Going out there and kicking a ball is what I love doing, and hitting the back of the net is something I love doing even more! Like last week, I really wanted to get the equaliser, and although it was tougher this time around, I thought I did well when I came on, took my chances, and maybe could’ve had a couple more!”
Brad Dolaghan seems to be a very level-headed young man as well as a fantastically talented player.
His two-goal cameo for the Hammers on Wednesday is further evidence that there are plenty of unpolished gems playing at National League level, and I would like to see our scouts concentrate more on that specific breeding ground.
The future is very bright indeed at West Ham, and Dolaghan’s performance for the under-21s against Bilbao was another big moment for us all to get excited about.
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