Orsic’s stunner spells defeat for Moyes boys

WEST HAM lost their unbeaten record in the Europa League but the youthful side selected by manager David Moyes was testament to the good job already done. Having previously secured top spot in Group H, Moyes named a defence made up of academy prospects, none of them older than 20. Harrison Ashby, Jamal Baptiste, Aji Alese and Emmanuel Longelo are clearly talented and so is 17-year-old striker Sonny Perkins. West Ham’s Under 23s sitting top of the Premier League Two table is proof of their promise but Dinamo Zagreb, scrapping to stay in the Europa League last night, proved too much. The youngsters’ clean sheet was lost within three minutes, though it was a wonder goal which gave Dinamo the lead with Mislav Orsic finding the top-right corner from the left wing. Replays showed it was Andriy Yarmolenko who did not bother closing down Orsic. Avoiding defeat would be enough to stop the visitors from dropping down to the Europa Conference League. The attack-minded Ashby was impressing down the right, though the London Stadium atmosphere felt flat. Dinamo had chances to double their advantage but were wasteful. Orsic, who scored a Europa League hat-trick against Tottenham last season, forced goalkeeper Alphonse Areola into an acrobatic one-handed save before the hour mark. Said Benrahma was brought off the bench to see if West Ham could secure an equaliser. It never arrived and so Group H ended in defeat for Moyes. Not to worry, because they had already secured safe passage to the knockout stages via their previous five games. Now they can happily wait to see who they draw on February 25. WEST HAM (4-3-3): Areola 6; Ashby 6, Baptiste 6, Alese 6, Longelo 6; Noble 6, Kral 6, Fornals 6 (Benrahma 46min, 6); Yarmolenko 5.5 (Potts 85), Perkins 6 (Forson 85), Vlasic 6.5. Manager: David Moyes 6.