West Ham United romped to a huge 8-0 win over League Two strugglers Macclesfield at the London Stadium on Wednesday evening, and many fans have taken to Twitter to react to Joe Powell’s debut.
The 19-year-old midfielder was one of three academy players to make their debut for the Hammers, with Grady Diangana starting while Conor Coventry came off the bench alongside Powell.
Irons fans have now taken to Twitter to react to Powell’s debut, with many raving about his assured display and his assist for Diangana’s first goal for the club.
Forever West Ham have rounded up some of the best tweets:
Something that has gone a bit unappreciated in the game was @JoePowell_10 ball for Diangana's 2nd. What a pass
— patrick woolcock (@hammerpat2020) September 27, 2018
@JoePowell_10 Congrats on your debut tonight 👏 Well played 💜💙⚒ pic.twitter.com/0K6GUHlyqi
— Susan Clark (@claretbluesue) September 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/RCWHU/status/1045079027076268033
Can you just imagine that feeling! Top performances from @conorcoventry @JoePowell_10 and Grady Diangana tonight. Amazing to see what the academy can do given a bit of freedom on the pitch #looktothefuture https://t.co/cRLbFJdfYA
— Green St. Hammers (@GreenStHammers) September 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/westhamdaveE16/status/1045075423682392064
The best thing about it though is that tonight was all about the Academy. Grady Diangana’s debut brace assisted by fellow academy graduate Joe Powell. Huge boost for a club that is so proud of its Academy. #WHUFC #COYI
— James Jones (@ByJamesJones) September 26, 2018
Two Canning Town boys now representing West Ham Mark noble and the very promising young talent that is @JoePowell_10 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
— Richie Hill ⚒⚒⚒ (@Richiehill27) September 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/jerseryhammers/status/1045054646950285314
OPINION
These West Ham fans seem pretty excited by Powell’s debut, and so they should be. The young attacking midfielder did not have too long on the pitch – he was introduced in the 61st minute – but he certainly impressed during that time. The 19-year-old was lively going forward for the Hammers and did well to square the ball for academy teammate Grady Diangana to open his account for the club. It was a brilliant night for the Chadwell Heath academy as a whole, with Diangana, Powell and Conor Coventry all making their first-team debuts. That trio follow Declan Rice into the first-team as academy graduates, and hopefully we see more of them in action for the senior set-up in the near future. The key for them is to not get too carried away with things right now and knuckle down and keep working hard. They will get more chances in the coming months if they do that.
