McNeilly's fine performance was capped with two goals either side of half time. Mendel-Idowu put the game beyond doubt with the third of the game as we move into second place in the league.

Following last week’s late show at home against Tottenham, our young Blues had a chance to rise up the table with a win depending on other results.

We started the faster of the two sides as Mendel-Idowu looked lively in the early moments of the game.

Inside 10 minutes, we took the lead as Golding surged through midfield and laid a good ball to Louis Flower whose perfect cross found an unmarked McNeilly. He prodded home with a good finish.

Despite our good start, the young Hammers equalised 10 minutes later as Callum Marshall picked up the loose ball in midfield, raced clear and finished beyond Ted Curd in goal.

We were still on top in the game, and we went close as Flower hit the post with a strong header after a good delivery from Mendel-Idowu’s corner.

After the break we went ahead again as McNeilly controlled well inside the penalty box and found the corner with a low finish. He was proving to be a thorn in the West Ham defence.

Our positive performance saw us add a third as McNeilly was again involved, combining with Flower who fed Mendel-Idowu and he found the back of the net with a smart finish in the penalty box.

The game would end 3-1 in our favour and it was a well-deserved win from our boys who put on a good performance to beat the league leaders.

The Under-18s take on Arsenal on Saturday 18 February in their next fixture and this will be their third London derby in a row.

Academy news

In other news Ronnie Stutter has extended his contract at the club till June 2026. In addition to this, Harrison McMahon has signed his first contract with the club which ties him down till at least the summer of 2025.

The tenacious midfielder has been an ever-present amongst the under-18s group and has also made his debut for the development squad under Mark Robinson as he was a second-half substitute against Cheltenham Town.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Ted Curd; Josh Acheampong, Kaiden Wilson, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Somto Boniface; Sam Rak-Sakyi, Tudor Mendel-Idowu (Harrison McMahon 74), Michael Golding (Tyrique George 74); Zain Silcott-Duberry (Ato Ampah 83), Louis Flower, Donnell McNeilly (Noah Hay 83).

Unused subs: Kai Crampton.

Scorers: Donnell McNeilly 9, 59; Tudor Mendel-Idowu 67

Booked: Somto Boniface 61.

West Ham (4-2-3-1): Mason Terry, Liam Jones, Ryan Battrum, Sean Tarima, Billy Bates, Amara Nallo (Favour Fawunmi 69), Lewis Orford, Oliver Scarles, Gideon Kodua, Callum Marshall, Divine Mukasa (Blaise Uwandji 78).

Unused subs: Josh Briggs, Finlay Herrick.

Scorer: Callum Marshall 22.

Booked: Liam Jones 57.