West Ham United 3-1 Luton Town
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 11 May 2024, 3pm BST
A superb second-half comeback, capped by a first senior goal for George Earthy, saw West Ham United conclude their 2023/24 home campaign with a 3-1 Premier League win over Luton Town.
Albert Sambi Lokonga put Luton in front within six minutes, before the hosts found a new lease of life with three strikes after the interval.
Good finishes from James Ward-Prowse and Tomás Souček arrived not long after the break to set the party in motion.
Earthy then struck his maiden first-team goal – just moments after coming off the bench - to ensure that David Moyes’ final outing at London Stadium ended in victory.
As the May sunshine hit the capital, there was a distinctively end-of-season feel about West Ham’s performance during a tame first 45.
Before Ward-Prowse and Souček led the comeback, Moyes' men mustered little in attack and saw Luton take the lead early on.
Surging forward down the left, Alfie Doughty was allowed too much space. His cross was then finished off by Sambi Lokonga, leaving West Ham with plenty of work to do.
The home side did offer glimpses in the first 45, as a response almost arrived from the boot of Jarrod Bowen when he guided Lucas Paquetá’s whipped cross against the post, and then saw his drilled strike across goal cleared away by Teden Mengi.
Souček also worked Thomas Kaminski from range, and Michail Antonio later struck high and wide from the edge of the area, but West Ham deservedly trailed at the break.
The second half, though, saw a far stronger performance from those in Claret and Blue, who struck three goals in 21 second-half minutes.
Bowen drove forward and tested Kaminski with a fierce drive from wide right, before Ward-Prowse thrashed the rebound into the bottom right corner from inside the area.
A seventh Premier League goal from the No7, who also has seven assists in the league this campaign, breathed life into West Ham, who built on the equaliser, and from then on dominated proceedings.
After Antonio forced a superb save from a close-range header, and Bowen struck the rebound into the side-netting, West Ham took the lead on 65 minutes.
Ward-Prowse’s cross was only half-cleared to Souček, and a player who has stood tall over the past four years again came up with the goods as he volleyed home from 20 yards with his weaker left foot.
Earthy then capped a stunning return to senior action, after he was stretchered off on his Premier League debut last month, with a superb cameo across the final 15 minutes.
Barely a minute into his appearance, the boyhood Hammer timed his run across the box perfectly to slot home his first senior goal on 76 minutes, after superb work from Mohammed Kudus down the right.
The fact Earthy was later joined by teammate since West Ham United U7s Kaelan Casey, who made his Premier League debut in stoppage time, capped a fitting home send-off to 2023/24.
West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Zouma ©, Ogbonna (Casey 90+2), Emerson (Cresswell 84), Souček, Ward-Prowse, Bowen, Kudus, Paquetá (Ings 84), Antonio (Earthy 75)
Subs not used: Fabiański (GK) Johnson, Cornet, Álvarez, Mubama
Goals: Ward-Prowse 54, Souček 65, Earthy 76
Booked: Emerson
Luton Town: Kaminski, Burke (Woodrow 87), Osho, Barkley (Clark 39), Morris ©, Adebayo, Chong, Mengi, Sambi Lokonga, Onyedinma (Ogbene 73), Doughty (Berry 87)
Subs not used: Krul (GK), Mpanzu, Hashioka, Townsend, Johnson
Goal: Sambi Lokonga 6
Booked: Barkley, Morris, Burke
Referee: Michael Oliver
