Southampton 1-4 West Ham: Youthful West Ham ease into Carabao Cup third round | OneFootball

A youthful West Ham produced a dominant performance against Southampton as they secured a 4-1 victory to advance to the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Leo Scienza gave the home side the lead with 10 minutes played, but the visitors equalised just before the break thanks to a first professional goal from Josh Ajala.

Ajala’s first start got even better just after the break as he doubled West Ham’s lead, putting the Hammers firmly in control.

Nuno’s strong second-half substitutions then made sure West Ham would advance into the third round of the Carabao Cup as Taty Castellanos added their third and Bowen smartly added a fourth.

As it happened

Nuno Espírito Santo made eight changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Charlton Athletic on the weekend. Six of those changes were all graduates of West Ham’s academy.

Finlay Herrick, Airidas Golambeckis, Joshua Ajala, Divine Mukasa, Lewis Orford and Ezra Mayers were those six. Joël Veltman and Keiber Lamadrid also came into the starting XI for their first starts of the season.

As for the Saints, they made five changes to the side that won 3-1 against Stoke City. Wellington, Romeo Akachukwu, Cameron Bragg, Lewis Dobbin and former Hammer Divin Mubama all made their way into the starting lineup.

Nuno’s inexperienced side had a disastrous start as they found themselves behind with only 10 minutes played. Max Kilman’s headed clearance was met by Léo Scienza, who, despite being surrounded, managed to create space and guide the ball into the far corner of the net.

Joël Piroe almost drew the Hammers level with just over 20 minutes played. The summer signing held the ball up well and shifted it onto his weaker right foot, forcing a diving save from Daniel Peretz in the Southampton goal.

The youthful West Ham side drew level on the stroke of half-time. 19-year-old Ajala met Orford’s in-swinging corner, heading home from close range to score his first senior goal on his first start for the East London club.

In contrast to the first half, West Ham started on the front foot and took the lead. After scoring his first goal in the opening 45 minutes, Ajala grabbed his second as he reacted fastest, firing a powerful strike past Peretz.

Despite taking the lead, Nuno opted to make four significant changes, with Taty Castellanos, Manor Solomon, Arne Engels and club captain Jarrod Bowen all brought on to strengthen the Hammers’ attacking threat.

The visitors took control of the second half and had several chances. Castellanos showed determination to play Bowen through, whose powerful effort forced a save from Peretz.

Nuno’s substitutions paid off as the constant pressure led to a West Ham third. Veltman’s cutback was poked home by Castellanos, who was embraced by the West Ham fans after facing criticism for his last-minute penalty miss on the weekend.

It got even better for the East London club as they made it four with six minutes of normal time left. A trademark Bowen goal, as the captain was allowed onto his left foot before arrowing the ball into the far corner, securing West Ham’s place in the third round.