West Ham United were easily defeated in their opening fixture of the Checkatrade Trophy, with a 4-2 defeat to a near full-strength Coventry City.
Taught a lesson
This is the first season that Premier League clubs have been allowed to put teams into the newly formatted competition, and Terry Westley's side would be one of the favourites as they headed to the Ricoh Arena.
It was a bright start from the Premier League Cup winners, with Toni Martinez poking home just after the half-hour mark. However the Sky Blues took over from there, with goals from Jordan Turnbull and Ruben Lameiras, either side of half-time, saw them enter the driving seat.
Goals in quick succession from Jordan Willis and Turnbull, put the tie out of sight. There was late drama, with the dismissal of Dion Kelly-Evans and late goal from Martinez, but it wasn't enough to deny Tony Mowbray's side the win.
Keep on working
It was clear that Martinez was the star in Westley's side, scoring his fourth and fifth of the season so far, and believes that it is a big confidence boost.
Martinez told whufc.com: "It was an important game for us, to play against good opposition, to show what we’ve got and use it as part of our development," and he continued by telling the club website “Hopefully we’ve shown some of what we can do but obviously we know there are a few things we can do better."
“If we keep working the way we are the results will come, for sure.” He continued.
Martinez concluded: "Confidence is really important for scoring goals but it’s also important to have an objective in your mind," the 19-year-old continued. "I set myself objectives in pre-season and I have that in my mind every time I head out onto the pitch."
West Ham United will take on Watford at the London Stadium on Saturday, September 10 with kick-off at 3pm BST.