Hall of fame

West Ham 3 Chelsea 1

ACADEMY youngster Robert Hall emphasised his huge potential once again on Saturday morning as his deadly double strike helped beat Chelsea in the FA Premier League at Little Heath.

The 16-year-old (pictured below), who has already played and scored goals in the England under-17 side, was in fine form for West Ham under-18s as he netted a goal in each half against a talented Blues outfit, who were sitting second in the league.

The wind did not help the football on display in this game, but it was West Ham who adapted best to grab the lead. Ahmed Abdulla played a superb through ball to Hall, who beat the goalkeeper with a cool, low drive.

A minute into the second half it was two and this time it was all Hall's own work. He cleverly dispossessed a Chelsea defender before beating the keeper with a rasping drive into the far corner.

Chelsea hit back with a goal of their own, but West Ham secured a deserved victory with 10 minutes left when Cristian Montano squared for Conor Okus to finish in style.

Academy director Tony Carr was delighted with the result: "We played very well in the conditions and I thought we adapted to them much better than Chelsea, especially in the first half," he said.

"They never really came out and had a go at us until they were 2-0 down, but we finished strongly and could have won by two or three more."

Carr also had some words of praise for Hall.

"He doesn't need many chances and he normally takes them when they come his way," said Carr. "He's thrown a marker down to the other strikers in the squad.

"He had two chances and took them and it was a fantastic performance from him when you consider he is a schoolboy."

West Ham have now gone five games without defeat and will look to continue that run on Saturday morning when they travel to play Charlton Athletic at New Eltham.

West Ham: Loveday, Modelski, Craig, Sanchez, Brown, Moncur, Wearen (Barrett 75), Okus, Abdulla, Hall (Werndly 85), Montano.