Remy Coddington was an unused substitute as his West Ham United Under-18 teammates went down 4-1 to Chelsea Under-18s but put in a second-half display which offered lead coach Kevin Keen encouragement for the future.
The Hammers, who had become the first team to defeat the Blues in U18 Premier League South last season after defeating them 2-1 in January, were on the wrong end of an impressive display of first-half finishing from their hosts at Cobham.
Bryan Fiabema put Chelsea ahead with a volleyed finish after 14 minutes, and with the Blues dominating proceedings, they netted two more either side of the half-an-hour mark, Jude Soonsup-Bell finished off a flowing move, before Harvey Vale found the top corner.
A number of fine saves by West Ham goalkeeper Krisztian Hegyi were required to keep the score down, with the Irons' only half-chances falling to defender Iyiola Adebayo and forward Kamarai Simon-Swyer.
If the first half saw Chelsea dominance, the second saw West Ham regain their confidence, playing with a new shape, starting brightly, and getting their just rewards on the hour mark.
Christian Veliky picked up the ball and floated a cross towards the back post, where Freddie Potts produced a firm header, looping the ball over the Chelsea goalkeeper and into the back of the net to reduce the deficit to two.
West Ham United was playing the better football but, despite Hegyi’s best efforts, it was Chelsea who ultimately concluded the scoring, Jimi Tauriainen putting the three points beyond all doubt for his side with a tap-in inside the last 15 minutes.
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