AFTER the drama of last weekend, Aidy Boothroyd's men enjoyed a slice of luck at Vicarage Road as a good performance from his young side saw them go through to the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

Boothroyd's squad has been decimated by injuries recently and by naming seven substitutes he had to dip into the ever prolific Academy and include 16-year-old defender Eddie Oshodi on the bench.

A second-half own goal from West Ham's Hayden Mullins, after a Lee Williamson free kick, eventually won the game for the 'Orns.

Boothroyd said: "The lads worked exceptionally hard, they were very organised and they stuck to what I asked them to do and I'm thrilled with the result.

"We rode our luck at times. West Ham are a very good team and we had to work hard to stop them, but I thought in the end we just shaded it and that's an unbelievable thing to say considering the team we had out."

After the much publicised refereeing decision which went against the 'Orns on Saturday, the slice of good fortune which came the way of the home side was more than deserved in the eyes of the manager.

He said: "Sometimes it does even itself out over the course of a season, we're due a little bit more by the way, my only concern now is that we don't get too over excited.

"We haven't won the cup but we've got through to the next round and we have to make sure that we're prepared for Sheffield United, because they've had a heavy defeat and if we're not careful that could be a backlash.

"We've got so much out of tonight, the crowd were with us, and the players did their usual and worked their socks off.

"There's competition for places now again, which I never thought we'd have when you consider the numbers we've got."

Bangura celebrates at the final whistle

The way the youngsters stepped in and shone tonight gives the boss a ray of hope in hard times which has seen the treatment room busier than the training pitch at London Colney.

Boothroyd commented: "The biggest thing for me is when a player does that [puts on a performance], then that's when you've got him because he can never take his foot off the pedal again.

"We've just beaten West Ham, in a very tough game but we've won and come through it. If we can continue to do that, and I can ask more of the players to keep pushing themselves then we won't be living in the shadow of what we've done before."

Finally on an otherwise successful night at the Vic, there may be one more reporting for duty to Head of Medical Andy Rolls tomorrow morning.

Skipper Jay DeMerit left the field early, leaving the 'Orns with 10 men, after all three substitutes had been used.

What was originally thought to be cramp could well be more serious, the Hornets will assess the American defender in the morning.

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