West Ham midfielder Declan Rice took to Twitter to hail a “special night for the academy” after the 8-0 win against Macclesfield Town.
The Hammers thrashed League Two side Macclesfield in the EFL Cup with three players making their debut.
After the game, Rice tweeted to congratulate the three youngsters, who have followed in the midfielder’s footsteps and played for the senior side.
Debuts
Grady Diangana was the first player to be handed his debut. The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes in this match.
And what an impact he had. Diangana scored two late goals to take the score to 8-0.
Both goals were assisted by second-half substitute Joe Powell. The 19-year-old winger twice set up his academy team-mate on his senior debut.
The other debutant was young Conor Coventry. The Republic of Ireland youth international came on at half-time for Pedro Obiang and played well in central midfield.
Rice’s message
Rice, who is now a first-team star, praised his team-mates for making their debuts.
The 3-cap Republic of Ireland international took to Twitter to share the following message: “special night for the academy! Congrats to Grady, @conorcoventry & @JoePowell_10 on [their] debuts.. fully deserved.”
West Ham’s new trio of starlets will be hoping for more first-team action in the near future.
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