Southampton 1-4 West Ham Player Ratings: Joshua Ajala Brace Inspires West Ham Into the Next Round of the Carabao Cup Despite Saints’ Early Lead

The newly relegated West Ham side met Southampton away from home in an EFL Carabao Cup Second Round fixture at St. Mary's Stadium. After two disastrous results in the Championship, the Hammers were looking for some rejuvenation in the Cup tournament.

However, their start to the game was a rather unwarranted one, as Tom Fellows' cross from the right flank wasn't cleared quite far enough by Max Kilman, and the ball fell at Léo Scienza's feet.

The Brazilian kept his patience, kept delaying his shot, went past three following defenders before finishing at Finlay Herrick's far post to give Southampton the lead within the first ten minutes.

West Ham United levelled the score in the 41st minute, when Lewis Orford's cross was misjudged completely by Daniel Peretz, only for Joshua Ajala to nod into an empty net. The 19-year-old scored his second of the night in the 53rd minute, to put the Hammers in the lead in the game for the first time.

The final nail in the coffin for the Saints came in the 75th minute, when a long ball forward wasn't dealt with well by Welington, which allowed Joël Veltman to get hold of the ball.

The Dutchman surged into the box and cut it back for Valentín Castellanos, who tapped it between the legs of Daniel Peretz to score the third, sending the 8000 travelling West Ham fans into sheer joy.

Jarred Bowen joined the party as well, using his left foot to wrap one around at Peretz's far post to make it four for the Hammers on the night, sending them into the Third Round of the cup competition.

Check out the Southampton vs West Ham Player Ratings.

Key Takeaways

• Romeo Akachukwu won the most duels (7).
• Lewis Orford recorded the most key passes (6).
• Jack Stephens and Max Kilman both had the most defensive contributions in this game (9).

Southampton Player Ratings vs West Ham

See the Southampton Player Ratings from the Southampton vs West Ham Player Ratings.

West Ham Player Ratings vs Southampton

Here are the West Ham Player Ratings from the Southampton vs West Ham Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Lewis Orford was the man of the match from Southampton vs West Ham.

Worst Performer

Daniel Peretz was the worst performer in this Carabao Cup Second Round game.