U14s triumph in SV Blerick International Tournament in the Netherlands

Hammers win six out of seven ties without conceding a single goal

Young Academy stars scoop Player and Goalkeeper of the Tournament awards

West Ham United’s U14s ended the season by winning the SV Blerick International Tournament in the Netherlands.The Hammers participated in the event as part of the Club’s Academy partnership with Dutch side VVV-Venlo, going through all seven matches without conceding a single goal.The group stage saw Danny Searle’s side held goalless by Roda JC before beating fellow Dutch trio PSV (1-0), Willem II (2-0) and SV Bleric (4-0) before overcoming Germany’s SV Rot-Weiss Essen 3-0.The semi-finals saw West Ham paired with fellow English club Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were beaten by a single goal.The final aptly gave the Hammers an opportunity to take on first opponents Roda JC again, and second time around the Claret and Blue youngsters proved too strong by winning 2-0.Unsurprisingly, West Ham’s unbeatable stopper Serine Sanneh won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament after keeping seven straight clean sheets, while outfield teammate Sam Caiger won the Player of the Tournament award.Head of Coaching for the U15-18 age group Searle expressed his pride in the squad’s performance, while also thanking his backroom staff."This was a great opportunity for the players to finish the season against good foreign opposition,” said Searle. “We met up with our partner club VVV-Venlo, who were also involved in SV Blerick's Tournament.“The players were very professional throughout the Tournament, which helped them in some tough situations against good opposition.“The performances improved over the two days and by the time we reached the semi-final and final you could see the team had grown in confidence. To win the Tournament was an excellent achievement and to do so not conceding a goal was even better. We would like to thank SV Blerick for their hospitality.“I would also like to place on record my thanks to the staff – coach Anthony Limbrick, sports scientist Scott Carter, analyst Gavin Boorman, physiotherapist Charlotte Pilgrim, driver and kit man Tony Falco and driver Dennis Lepine."