When his contract expired at the beginning of July, it was assumed that Michail Antonio had scored his final goal in the claret and blue shirt of Premier League giants West Ham United.
Not quite.
Keeping himself fit with West Ham United’s Under-21 side during pre-season as he weighs up his next move, Michail Antonio proved that those poacher’s instincts remain as sharp as ever during a 2-1 friendly victory over Boreham Wood on Friday evening.
After making his return to professional football during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Jamaica international Antonio is determined to prove he has plenty left to offer. The manner in which he opened the scoring at the Mangata Developments Stadium certainly suggested that anyone writing off the 35-year-old after that horror car crash in late-2024 could be chowing down on humble pie soon enough.
West Ham United Under-21 coach Mark Robson raves about Michail Antonio
Antonio, who has not played a competitive club game since December, robbed the ball off a dallying Boreham Wood defender before firing home with just four minutes on the clock.
A man with the joint-sixth most headed goals in Premier League history then emphatically converted an Elisha Sowunmi cross before making way at half-time.
Under-21 coach Mark Robson, speaking at full-time, believes this was not only a valuable outing for Antonio, but also for the next generation of Hammers.
“That was a great experience for [the youngsters to play alongside Antonio],” Robson tells the club’s official website. “I was really pleased, I thought we worked really hard tonight.
“[Michail Antonio] had a really good 45 minutes, following on from his work with Jamaica in the Gold Cup. It was great to have Micky there tonight and obviously he took both his goals very well.
“A fantastic experience for the boys, just being around him. He was talking to them, he was helping them. I’m really pleased with his overall work ethic and I thought we looked really good tonight. It was really pleasing to have him there and I think it definitely rubbed off on the boys.”
Robson pleased with Boreham Wood win as Ezra Mayers starts
Antonio’s brace ensured Robson’s side could rely on the sort of ruthlessness they lacked during the 0-0 draw with Kevin Nolan’s Northampton Town three days earlier.
Goalkeeper Fin Herrick was West Ham’s standout performer at Sixfields. Centre-back Ezra Mayers trained with Graham Potter’s first-team earlier in the month, meanwhile, and started his first game of the pre-season tour after returning to Robson’s XI against Boreham Wood.
“I’m really pleased actually, really pleased with the way we played,” Robson smiles. “The last couple of games, the whole squad has got to grips with what we’re looking for. You can see the progression in it.
“I thought we controlled the game really well first half. We probably just lost our way a little bit second half, gave the ball away more than we needed to, maybe a little bit too cheap. So we ended up having to defend a bit more but we still defended really well.
“I’d like to see maybe a little bit more control in that second half. I know I made a few changes but I think overall a really pleasing performance and a good workout for us.”
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