Southampton 1 West Ham 4 Player Ratings: Nuno’s Young Guns Deliver

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

Nuno Espírito Santo took a risk tonight by selecting such a young and inexperienced West Ham team while under considerable pressure. It paid off. The Hammers recovered from a shaky start and going behind to produce an emphatic 4-1 win, with several youngsters giving the manager genuine selection dilemmas ahead of Watford. Nuno will remain under pressure if things go badly at the weekend, but playing the kids and getting a performance like this has certainly helped his cause.

West Ham Player Ratings

Finn Herrick: 5

Couldn’t do anything about Southampton’s opening goal and, for all the Saints’ early attacking, didn’t have too much to do in the first half. Produced one impressive punch. Had a crazy moment on 56 minutes when he ran almost 40 yards from goal and tried to chest the ball under control. Completely unnecessary. Made a comfortable save on 73 minutes before spilling Edozi’s shot late on, with Kilman clearing the danger.

Joël Veltman: 8

Assured and impressive from the start and at times looked a class apart. Reads the game so well and looks like he’ll be a real asset. Outmanoeuvred his marker following Golambeckis’ long ball for West Ham’s third before advancing into the box and cutting back perfectly for Castellanos to score.

Max Kilman: 6

His clearance eventually led to Southampton’s opening goal and he sometimes struggled with their pressing game, hurriedly clearing the ball on a couple of occasions. Headed just wide from Mukasa’s inswinging corner and made a robust, important challenge on 39 minutes to thwart a Saints attack. Cleared the danger after Herrick’s late spill.

Airidas Golambeckis: 6

Good block on former Hammer Divin Mubama and grew in confidence as the game went on. At one point strode forward from defence, overlapped Jarrod Bowen and ended up on the right wing, where his cross was just overhit. Excellent intention and he’ll have learned a lot from the experience. His long ball down the line started the move for West Ham’s third.

Ezra Mayers: 6

Some of his passing lacked accuracy and you could tell at times that he was a central defender playing at left-back. However, he was defensively very good and made an important clearance from Scienza’s pull-back after 18 minutes.

Mohamadou Kanté: 6

Sometimes sloppy in possession but made a couple of important tackles. Probably could have done better as Sienza ran through for Southampton’s opening goal. Definite signs of a midfield partnership developing with Lewis Orford.

Lewis Orford: 8

Continued his improvement with some excellent passing. His reading of the game and willingness to demand the ball from his teammates is impressive given his age. Curled in an excellent corner for Ajala’s first goal and was heavily involved in some of West Ham’s best football. Played his part in the fourth, taking Mukasa’s pass before feeding Bowen.

Divin Mukasa: 8

His energy was evident throughout and he was involved in the excellent move which created the corner for West Ham’s equaliser. Another of the youngsters who did enough to give Nuno a genuine selection headache ahead of Watford. Strode forward with real purpose to start the move which ended with Bowen making it 4-1. Replaced by Casey with seconds remaining.

Keiber Lamadrid: 5

Had a shot from distance which went well wide, although the build-up between him and Veltman was good. You could immediately see the extra quality when Bowen replaced him, but Lamadrid was one of several young players who showed really good energy.

Josh Ajala: 9

Can’t really do much more, can you? Scored West Ham’s equaliser after 40 minutes, heading Orford’s excellent corner in at the far post following a really good team move. Made it 2-1 after 52 minutes, reacting to the rebound from goalkeeper Stevens and finishing expertly into the far corner. Unlucky to be hooked having scored twice, but he’s certainly given Nuno something to think about.

Joel Piroe: 7

Continued where he left off against Charlton by initially showing a lack of physicality in his duels with the Southampton defenders. Improved considerably as the game went on. Forced Stevens into two saves around the 20-minute mark and was unlucky not to win a penalty just before half-time following a good solo dribble.

Produced a sumptuous pass for Ajala’s second, dropping deep before threading a wonderful ball through the Southampton defence. I was disappointed to see him withdrawn because he’d become increasingly influential.

Substitutes

Jarrod Bowen: 7

Immediately brought extra quality. Forced Stevens into a smart save after dropping his shoulder and going onto his weaker foot. Made it 4-1 with probably the most Jarrod Bowen-like goal you’re ever likely to see, cutting inside two Saints defenders onto his left foot before finishing low into the far corner.

Manor Solomon: 6

Magnificent run shortly after coming on saw him slalom past several Southampton players and almost create a goalscoring chance for Bowen. Had a shot from distance.

Taty Castellanos: 7

Forced a corner as West Ham really turned on their attacking game in search of a third. Got his goal after 74 minutes, tapping home from close range following excellent work from Veltman.

Arne Engels: 6

Almost immediately had an impact after replacing Kanté, setting up Bowen for a speculative effort.