Hammers Claim Vital Saints Triumph

In both ties of their Carabao Cup run to date, West Ham United have come from a goal behind to knock both Hampshire clubs out. After a 3-1 home win over Portsmouth in round one, it was the same outcome in round two, as the Hammers ensured that they would progress to the next stage, thanks to a 4-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s on Tuesday night.

The talk ahead of the game was that Nuno Espírito Santo would go strong again just as he did against John Mousinho’s men but, this certainly wasn’t the case when the team news was released.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest Head-Coach made nine changes to the side that were defeated 2-1 by Charlton Athletic three days earlier.

Max Kilman was named captain for the evening, as six Development Squad players were included in the starting line-up. Finlay Herrick, Airidas Golambeckis, Ezra Mayers, Lewis Orford, Keiber Lamadrid, Divine Mukasa and Joshua Ajala were all told on Monday afternoon that they would start on the South Coast.

Mohamadou Kanté and Joël Piroe also retained their places with Joël Veltman making his first start for the club since joining on 6 August.

Arne Engels, Manor Solomon, Valentín Castellanos, Jarrod Bowen, Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, Oliver Scarles, Soungoutou Magassa and Kaelan Casey were involved in the matchday squad.

The Irons exited the competition at this stage last season and it looked as if they were going to suffer another early departure when Léo Scienza gave his Head-Coach Tonda Eckert and a very sparse home crowd something to shout about with only ten minutes gone. He was able to find space and send the ball past Herrick.

After that early setback, the visitors spent a large amount of time trying to level matters but, the Saints seemed content to hold onto what they had. Lamadrid went close to equalising twice as he tested goalkeeper Daniel Peretz but unfortunately for those who had made the journey from East London, he made two relatively comfortable saves.

There was action at both ends by this point, as the pace of the game had suddenly gone up a level with the teams showing their intent to claim victory. Scienza was at the heart of the home side’s play, as he came up against Herrick again but on this occasion, the young stopper prevented himself from being beaten for a second time. Home skipper Jack Stephens then kept the pressure up but, he couldn’t quite connect with the ball.

The hosts’ main threat was then back on the scene, as Scienza forced a good save from the replacement goalkeeper.

The East Londoners were working through the gears and equalised just before the break when Ajala took advantage of an error from Peretz by heading Orford’s corner into the net. The travelling contingent had been willing their team on throughout but, it would be fair to say that the volume got even louder when the ball had crossed the line. Ajala had just scored a his first ever senior goal!!!

Shortly after, the Stratford faithful thought they should have been awarded a penalty to edge themselves in front when Piroe was tripped by Stephens. However, the defender survived, as referee Ruebyn Ricardo was unmoved.

The half-time whistle blew and by this point, the visitors had got a foothold in the game and were starting to dominate. Could they complete the job?

This is probably the first time for a while that a young West Ham side has been implicitly trusted to carry out such a task but to be fair, they were performing well and looking to stamp their authority on the contest.

Espírito Santo’s team talk seemed to further inspire his group, as they reemerged from the dressing rooms reinvigorated and continued from where they had left off in the first-half.

In contrast to the first forty five minutes, the Saints were on the back-foot and eight minutes after the action was back underway, the game had been turned on its head. What a night it was turning into for Ajala. he had netted his second and the mood in the away end had certainly changed, as the home support had that sinking feeling.

The Portuguese obviously had faith in his side but I bet even in his wildest dreams, he didn’t expect to get repaid with the performance that they put in.

It really gives him a selection dilemma for the trip to Watford on Saturday but he felt it had reached the time to introduce more experience into the fray so Engels, Bowen, Solomon and Castellanos took the places of Kanté, Lamadrid, Ajala and Piroe.

Eckert made several substitutions of his own seconds later, as former Hammer Flynn Downes was thrown on for Cameron Bragg, while both Kuryu Matsuki and Samuel Edozie were also brought on for Tom Fellows and Scienza.

The visitors had certainly built up some much- needed confidence here and they could have had many more goals but, the home side were obviously wary of the result becoming embarrassing. They proved resilient for a period, as Veltman, Orford, Bowen and Castellanos all tried their luck but were unable to find a way through.

Southampton were resorting to desperate measures as they looked to cut the deficit. It looked as though they had run out of luck however, as Finn Azaz went for goal but, he was unfortunately thwarted by Herrick, while Bowen brought a sharp save out of Peretz up the other end.

Castellanos and Bowen eventually joined Ajala on the scoresheet late on, as the home team appeared to have given up, much like their supporters!!

A third-round booking was now firmly on the agenda and with three minutes of normal time to play, Mukasa made way for Casey.

Five minutes of stoppage time were signalled before Ricardo blew his whistle and the ever-loyal fan base were able to celebrate a second victory in this competition.

Matters are now all set for a repeat at Vicarage Road but with the transfer window still open, then who knows what frame of mind the squad will be in ahead of the game?