Arsenal's Conor Henderson gave his side the lead against West Ham
There were two matches in the Barclays Premier League Under-21 second phase at the end of the week.
West Ham United 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal avoided a fourth defeat at the hands of West Ham United this season but left the Boleyn Ground contemplating what might have been with a 1-1 draw in the Elite Group.
Steve Gatting’s team opened the scoring on 20 minutes through Conor Henderson, but the lead lasted just 12 minutes as Nico Yennaris diverted a cross by Pelly Ruddock into his own net.
The second half was interrupted for 10 minutes by a floodlight failure before both sides went in search of a winning goal. Wellington Paulista, who scored against Arsenal in the reverse fixture in the second phase, headed over two chances before Arsenal's Serge Gnabry, a substitute, hit a post in stoppage time with a shot that, had it gone in, would have taken his team above West Ham in the table.
As it was, a point left Arsenal second from bottom with seven points from seven matches, while West Ham climbed to fourth with nine points from nine matches.
West Ham report | Arsenal report
Fulham 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn hit Fulham’s hopes of catching Everton at the top of Group 1 with a narrow victory at Motspur Park on Thursday.
Substitute Osayamen Osawe got the decisive goal in the second half with a header that avenged Fulham’s 3-1 victory at Ewood Park earlier in the week.
Fulham remain five points behind leaders Everton, having played two matches more while the win lifted Blackburn a place to fifth.
Fulham report | Blackburn report
Barclays Under-21 Premier League results
Friday 15 March
Elite Group
West Ham (Yennaris o.g.) 1-1 Arsenal (Henderson)
Thursday 14 March
Group 1
Fulham 0-1 Blackburn Rovers (Osawe)
Barclays Under-21 Premier League fixtures
Sunday 17 March
Elite Group
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United, The Hawthorns, 2pm
Group 1
Everton v Aston Villa, Southport FC, 2pm
Monday 18 March
Elite Group
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool, AFC Telford United, 7pm
Group 2
Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City, Lancashire FA, 7pm
Norwich City v Manchester City, Colney Training Centre, 2pm
Reading v Newcastle United, Reading Training Ground, 1pm
Download full fixture list here | For full results click here
To view the league tables after the qualificaton stage, click here
You can follow developments on Twitter with the Premier League's account @premierleague or via the hashtag #BU21PL
