City Under-23s Held By West Ham In Premier League Cup

A brilliant first-half brace from Admiral Muskwe was nullified by Declan Rice and Nathan Holland strikes for the hosts to leave City's hopes of progressing to the knock-out round in the balance on a bitterly cold evening in Dagenham. 

The timing of Holland's late equaliser, falling in the 86th minute, was a cruel blow for the Foxes on a night which saw many deliver standout performances against a strong Hammers side, several of whom have represented the east London club at senior level.

Following a 1-0 reverse to leaders Brighton and Hove Albion last month, the Foxes started the match bottom of Group E with a solitary point to their name but that didn’t dissuade them from coming out of the blocks quickly.

Hamza Choudhury, who returned from a loan spell with Sky Bet Championship outfit Burton Albion in January, linked up play neatly in midfield, forging space for Layton Ndukwu and Muskwe on the flanks. 

The visitors took a deserved lead after just six minutes when Muskwe robbed Josh Pask of possession on the edge of the Hammers’ penalty area before slotting it into Raphael Spiegel’s bottom left corner in the sixth minute. 

It was reward for City’s frenzied start, closing down every 50-50 and hounding West Ham’s defensive four at every opportunity, giving them little time to pick a pass and forcing them to go long on several occasions. 

Their lead did not last long, however, with West Ham levelling the scores four minutes later through Rice’s scooped finish beyond Daniel Iverson from an in-swinging corner on the left. City rallied at the other end though.

Ndukwu, running amok down the left channel, skipped inside Pask in the corner of the 18 yard box before curling it inches wide of the hosts’ far corner. Choudhury’s tireless efforts came at a cost after 32 minutes when he pulled up with a hamstring problem and he was replaced by Dylan Watts in the middle. 

City’s unrelenting pressing game paid dividends again just before the break when Muskwe ran onto another loose ball and slid it beyond the Hammers’ goalkeeper to double their lead. 

Muskwe went close again just after the restart, almost getting a touch to Josh Debayo’s cross from left before Kairo Mitchell then fired over from 15 yards after bursting through the West Ham back-line. 

The night ended in heartbreak for Beaglehole's men, however, with Holland curling it beyond Iversen with just six minutes to play and leaving them in need of two victories against Brighton and Nottingham Forest if they are to progress into the latter stages. 

Major moment

Under-23s boss Steve Beaglehole has often lamented that issue as a key weakness in his post-match briefings with LCFC TV so he would have been delighted to see his young side go one-goal ahead so early in the match. 

It gave the Foxes a platform to build upon and, although the lead was lost shortly after, they battled hard to regain the advantage just before the break and it will undoubtedly give them confidence going forward on all fronts.

Who impressed? 

City played with pace and power throughout an end-to-end tie which ultimately ended in heartbreak - two qualities Admiral Muskwe, their two-goal hero in Dagenham, has in abundance. 

The lightning-quick winger played on the opposite side to Layton Ndukwu and, with the former dragging defenders out of position, it often allowed him to enjoy himself down the right wing. 

The 18-year-old gave the Foxes an outlet up front and, as the match wore on, he became increasingly unlucky not to grab a hat-trick and take the match ball back to Leicester under his arm. 

Where does it leave us? 

Leicester now have two points in Group E of the Premier League Cup ahead of a double-header against Brighton and Hove Albion and East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest. 

City are just two points behind Forest, making the clash between the two sides on Friday 24 February all the more significant, but Steve Beaglehole’s men first need to navigate a tough trip to the south coast. 

Brighton defeated them 1-0 at St George’s Park last month and currently sit top of the group with nine points to their name. If the Foxes win both matches, though, there’s still a chance of progressing to the knock-out rounds. 

WEST HAM: Spiegel, Knoyle, Pask, Rice (c), Neufville, Makasi, Sylvestre (Kemp 69), Diangana (Parfitt-Williams 82), Quina, Holland, Powell (Johnson 65). 

SUBS NOT USED: Akinola, Trott.

GOALS: Rice 10, Holland 86.

CITY: Iversen, Johnson, Knight, Moore (c), Pascanu, Choudhury (Watts 32), Miles, Debayo, Ndukwu (Wood 89), Muskwe, Mitchell. 

SUBS NOT USED: Bolkiah, Yates, Kipre. 

GOALS: Muskwe 6, 46.

REFEREE: Adrian Quelch.