West Ham’s U21 side produced an outstanding display in their first home fixture of the new season, as they swept aside Southampton’s U21’s 5-1, going top of the Premier League 2 table.

In front of goal, the young Hammers were clinical, whilst also having a defensive solidity which helped them in securing their second win on the bounce.

Early on in the game, the visitors saw a lot of the possession without creating any real opportunities. However, despite seeing a lot of the ball early on, it was West Ham who struck first and put themselves in front thanks to a goal from Ollie Scarles eight minutes in.

Around ten minutes later, Southampton thought they had levelled the tie, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside. For the Hammers, this ultimately proved to be a turning point in the game as after this they began to take greater control over the game and assert their dominance.

Just before the end of the first half, the Hammers would take a 2-0 lead going into the break. This was thanks to a goal from Sean Moore, Lewis Orford danced his way through the Southampton defence and would lay it off to Moore who would fire home to score his second goal in two games.

West Ham came out all guns blazing in the second half as they quickly scored their third goal of the game 52 minutes in. Scarles played a beautiful through ball which found Josh Ajala, the forward stayed composed and slotted home giving West Ham firm control over the tie. Just a couple of minutes later, Ajala would score his second of the game. Going on an outstanding solo run, Ajala’s second goal was truly beautiful, taking the ball past three defenders and finishing with composure beyond his years to score the Hammers fourth.

Southampton skipper Joe O’Brien – Whitmarsh would pull a goal back for the visitors in the 69th minute. The Hammers remained unfazed however, securing all three points five minutes before the final whistle thanks to Ollie Scarles second goal of the game following a sharp and well executed counter attack.

The dominant 5-1 win for West Ham’s U21 side sees them go into match day three at the top of the Premier League 2 table. Speaking after the game, 21’s lead coach Mark Robson said: “I thought we were excellent. From one to eleven, to the finishers from the bench, everyone performed exceptionally well. The young lads who are still scholars, as well as the more experienced players, everyone stepped up for the team,” as was reported on the club’s Official Website.