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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Ex-Irish League teens in mix-up over West Ham United hat-trick honours

Confusion reigned over West Ham United's hat-trick honours after the club's Under 18s beat their Crystal Palace counterparts on Saturday.

The young Hammers emerged on top in a five-goal thriller, edging past their London rivals 3-2 in the U18 Premier League.

They did it the hard way, coming from 2-0 down to turn the tables and claim maximum points.

Read more: West Ham United teenager Callum Marshall in prolific form ahead of 'Next Gen' final

Early reports - and online football apps - credited former Coleraine youngster Patrick Kelly for scoring West Ham's hat-trick. But it soon became evident there had been a mix-up involving another former Irish League youngster.

It was, in fact, ex-Linfield teen Callum Marshall who claimed the clinical treble. Kelly himself even took to Twitter to praise his new club teammate.

It should come as no surprise to see Marshall on the scoresheet. After making his move from Linfield this summer the 17-year-old bagged eight goals in his opening five games for the Hammers' academy. He also scored a hat-trick against Palace in a previous game.

The youngster's stellar start has already seem him turn out for West Ham's Under 21 side.

West Ham assistant coach Gerard Prenderville recently said of the teenager: “He signed for the club in January and had a fantastic end to the season.

“I thought it would be good for him to get a preseason under his belt at the club and now he has done, we’re already seeing him get even better.

“He’s been great for us in preseason. He scored a lot of goals for us in the Czech Republic, and he got his hat trick (against Crystal Palace). He is a great lad, he works hard and he’s now reaping the rewards.”

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