#50GreatestMatches - #31 West Ham United 4-1 Liverpool


West Ham United celebrates its 125th anniversary on 29 June – and as part of our celebrations we're counting down to the date with the Club’s #50GreatestMatches brought to you by Monster Energy!

Since the Hammers were formed as Thames Ironworks FC in 1895, we have played in excess of 5,500 matches – reaching five FA Cup finals - and one women's FA Cup final, lifting European silverware and competing across the globe and enjoying thousands of memorable moments.

With your help and recommendations, we've whittled down that list of 5,500 matches to a top 50, featuring landmark goals, trophies held aloft, heroic individual performances and remarkable collective efforts.

We continue the #50GreatestMatches countdown with a League Cup tie for the ages...



Liverpool in the 1980s were a near-unstoppable force. 

With six league titles, an FA Cup, four League Cups and two European Cups collected in the previous nine years, they arrived at the Boleyn Ground for a League Cup fourth round tie on 30 November 1988 as clear favourites.

West Ham United would pay no heed to the Reds' mighty reputation, however, on a memorable night in east London. 

Having defeated Sunderland and Derby County to reach this stage of the competition, the Hammers were keen to use the cup as distraction from their league travails - heading into this match they sat second bottom of Division One.

The Reds, meanwhile, were flying high in fourth - but to the majority of the 26,971 inside the Boleyn Ground, the opening to the game would have few able to pick out the strugglers.

Amid an electric atmosphere, Paul Ince netted twice inside the opening 25 minutes - the first a brilliant volley, the second a powerful header - to send that noise even higher.

Liverpool's team was crammed full of stars of the time, with the likes of Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge and one-time Hammer Ray Houghton all selected.

And when Aldridge pulled one back from the spot with 34 minutes played, the Hammers could have been forgiven for retreating.

Not a bit of it.

Out they came for the second period and an own goal from Steve Staunton, heading a left-wing cross from David Kelly beyond Mike Hooper, restored the Hammers' two-goal lead.

West Ham were not done yet. Tony Gale curled a free-kick into the net to seal Liverpool's biggest domestic cup defeat since 1939.

The Hammers would go on to defeat Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, and although Luton Town would end the run at the next stage, this victory over Liverpool would live long in the memory for all Irons present.

We reach #30 on Sunday - a fantastic Play-Off night under the lights at the Boleyn Ground.