Hammers Plough Over Tractor Boys Again
West Ham United picked up their first win on the final day of the season since 2021 on Sunday afternoon when they achieved their second double of the season with a 3-1 win against Ipswich Town who will be making an immediate return to the Sky Bet Championship.
All four of the players who would be leaving the club in the summer were in the matchday squad, as Graham Potter made five changes from the team that were beaten by Nottingham Forest a week ago. Łukasz Fabiański replaced Alphonse Areola in goal to play his last match for the club, while Vladimír Coufal and former Tractor Boy Aaron Cresswell dropped to the bench.
Niclas Füllkrug, youngster Oliver Scarles, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Edson Álvarez all came into the starting line-up, club captain Jarrod Bowen retained his place in order to make his 200th appearance in the top-flight.
The Hammers had already dropped points against two of the Premier League’s newcomers this season and were determined not to do so here. They had two quick chances in the opening minutes. Bowen exchanged passes with Füllkrug but the German unfortunately dragged his shot wide.
Shortly after, former Manchester United youngster Axel Tuanzebe made a mistake from what should have been a simple backpass to his goalkeeper Christian Walton and the stopper, who was a late replacement for Alex Palmer in the starting line-up had to make sure he was on his metal to save his teammates blushes. Unfortunately for the travelling contingent however, he was and prevented a certain goal.
Although it took Kieran McKenna’s side time to get into their rhythm, they did have chances but showed just why they hadn’t won in front of their own fans in 2025, as they could not make the most of what came their way.
As the half wore on, they started to dominate proceedings and the visitors had Fabiański to thank for keeping the match level. Nathan Broadhead found plenty of space and was only kept out by a great save from the Pole.
That effort didn’t deter the home side though, as skipper Sam Morsey tried his luck seconds later but sent his effort went just wide.
The game was be played at a very slow pace and in tribute to the players that won’t be in Stratford next season, the whole away end started reciting songs about former legends.
As half-time approached, Bowen was denied by a great save from Walton, after he and Füllkrug had linked up again. James Ward-Prowse tried to keep the move alive but it was ended when his effort was blocked by Jacob Greaves.
Ipswich then produced their best moment of the game but unfortunately it brought no reward. Omari Hutchinson ran into the box and sent an effort towards goal but to the relief of their opponents it hit the post.
Shortly after, the ball was up the other end once more and this time Potter’s men did take the lead. Walton may have thwarted Ward-Prowse earlier but he was not to be denied for long as he opened the scoring with just minutes to go before the break. The ball was pounced upon by the visiting skipper after his counterpart had been pressured into a mistake and he played the ball through to Ward-Prowse and the midfielder had got the better of the stand-in stopper on this occasion.
The sizeable away crowd would have been pleased to have been ahead when referee Tim Robinson blew the whistle and if they carried on in this vein, it would give Potter a fifth win since taking charge of the club in January.
Although the East Londoners started the game in a positive fashion, McKenna’s men were on top for large parts of the first-half and continued from where they had left off when the action was back underway. Having been handed a rare start, Fabiański would have wanted to keep a clean sheet on his final appearance for the club but just seven minutes into the half, Broadhead made sure that didn’t happen. The Pole played a loose ball out from the back and his defence backed off allowing the former Sunderland youngster to run into space and beat the departing goalkeeper.
The game wasn’t level for too long as just three minutes later, Bowen produced a rocket of a shot that flew past Walton, giving him no chance.
Potter then made a double change, as both Coufal and Mohammed Kudus entered the fray for Scarles and Füllkrug.
The hosts were trying their best to find a second equaliser but both Morsey and Conor Chaplin sent their efforts wide and McKenna’s team were still pressing when Jack Clarke was brought on for Chaplin with twenty minutes of normal time to play, but the substitute also missed the target.
More substitutions were made by West Ham before the end of the contest with Álvarez and Ward-Prowse being replaced by Lucas Paquetá and Guido Rodríguez.
West Ham put the seal on their sixth away triumph of the campaign on eighty seven minutes when Kudus got his name on the scoresheet, as he unleashed a curling shot that beat Walton all ends up.
For the majority of the second-half, the away end were singing about seeing Cresswell play in a West Ham shirt for one last time and just after the announcement was made that seven minutes of stoppage time would be added on, Potter obliged. The Liverpudlian took the place of fellow defender Jean-Clair Todibo.
The extra minutes were negotiated successfully, meaning the Hammers finish what has been a difficult campaign in fourteenth place in the table.
All signs point to it being another summer of change in Stratford, as Potter builds his own team in order to go into the 2025/26 season in better shape. With June seeing both the opening of the transfer window, as well as the new fixture lists being published, news on both those events will appear here as soon as information is available.