Swindon Town v West Ham United U21s
EFL Trophy Southern Group D, Nigel Eady County Ground, Tuesday 28 October 2025, 7pm GMT
West Ham United U21s face their biggest test of the season so far on Tuesday evening as they travel west to face Swindon Town where a win would guarantee them a place in the Vertu Trophy knockout stages.
A win for Swindon on the other hand, joint-top in EFL League Two, would spell the end of the road in this competition for our young Hammers.
Following the promotion of U21 Academy coaching staff to Nuno Espírito Santo’s first-team staff and subsequent temporary Academy coaching changes, Head of Coaching and Player Development Greg Lincoln will continue to lead the U21 development squad in the short term, assisted by Academy Transition and Pathways Manager Mark Phillips, U18s Coach Zavon Hines and U18s Goalkeeper Coach Chris Lewington. The Club will make further announcements on the Academy coaching structure going forward at the appropriate time.
How To Follow…
Tuesday’s fixture will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ and therefore will not be streamed on the Club’s YouTube channel.
Supporters can instead keep up with events via a live blog on the Club’s website and app, with a match report and post-match reaction to follow the final whistle. Highlights will be available on Wednesday.
Tickets...
General admission tickets are available in the Arkells Stand only, priced at £10 for Adults, £5 for Over-65s and U24s, and £2 for U18s.
Tickets are available to purchase on the Swindon Town website HERE.
Travel...
By car, to reach Swindon Town’s County Ground, leave the M4 at Junction 15, take the Commonhead Roundabout and turn left onto the A4259 Marlborough Road.
Take the second exit at the roundabout onto Queens Drive. At the next set of roundabouts, take the third exit onto County Road, and the entrance to the ground is on the first right.
By train, Swindon is located within an hour of London Paddington. The station is just a 15-minute walk away from the ground.
Vertu Trophy Explained...
The Vertu Trophy brings together clubs from League One and League Two alongside 16 Category One Academies, including our U21s.
The 64 competing teams are divided into 16 regional groups of four. Clubs earn three points for a win and one for a draw, with a penalty shootout held after 90 minutes in the event of a stalemate to determine the winner of an extra point.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the knockout rounds, which remain regionalised until the quarter-finals. All ties are settled on the night via penalties if necessary, with only the Wembley final going to extra time.
Opposition...
Swindon sit joint top of League Two after 14 games, trailing leaders Walsall by a single goal in the goal difference column.
However, their early season form has stuttered of late, without a win in three league games, including a 4-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley.
With this fixture coming just three days after their goalless draw at home to Colchester United, Swindon Head Coach Ian Holloway is expected to make some alterations to his regular line-up, which could see the introduction of some of their younger players.
That being said, a strong line-up is expected as they hope to regain their winning momentum ahead of their FA Cup first-round tie at Rotherham United this weekend.
In the Vertu Trophy, Swindon have only played one game so far, a 3-2 win over current group leaders Reading. The first encounter between the two sides since 2002, more than 1,000 travelling Reading supporters made up a third of the attendance at Swindon's County Ground.
Previous Meeting...
Our U21s last faced Swindon Town way back in August 2017, delivering our first-ever victory in the EFL Trophy.
The Hammers were twice pegged back that night after former Norway international Martin Samuelsen and Moses Makasi goals were cancelled out by the hosts.
But Dan Kemp, currently of Stevenage, scored an unanswered third to round off the goals at the County Ground and see West Ham pick up their first-ever three points in the competition.
How Things Stand In Group D...
Our young Hammers opened their EFL Trophy account for 2025/26 with a 5-1 win at MK Dons on 16 September. Preston Fearon’s first goals at U21s level, an own-goal and a Callum Marshall brace secured our joint-biggest ever EFL Trophy win.
In our second game however, our U21s were left to reflect on what might have been after a controversial red card saw Reading come from a goal behind in the second half to win 3-1.
In our final game, at Swindon, a draw could see us qualify but we would have to rely on MK Dons to beat Swindon in the final group game, which would see us progress on goal difference.
Vertu Trophy Southern Group D...
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Reading | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | West Ham United | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Swindon Town | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Milton Keynes Dons | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
The Story So Far...
Tuesday evening's game will be our young Hammers' third in seven days in three different competitions!
A week ago, a penalty-shootout win over Sutton United, following a 3-3 draw, secured an extra bonus point for our U21s in their quest to make the knockout stages of the National League Cup.
On Friday evening, Greg Lincoln's side beat Aston Villa 1-0 to extend their Premier League 2 unbeaten run to five games and move up to tenth in the 29-team standings.
At Swindon, the stakes will be higher, as a defeat would end our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy, whereas a victory would guarantee us a spot in the round of 32 for the second time in three seasons.