West Ham United U21s 3-0 Liverpool U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 7 November 2025, 7.20pm GMT (delayed kick-off)
West Ham United U21s extended their unbeaten run in Premier League 2 to seven matches with a dominant display, seeing off Liverpool at Rush Green Stadium.
It was a performance full of control and confidence from Greg Lincoln’s side, who didn't allow the visitors a moment’s comfort as they cruised to a 3-0 victory under the lights in Romford thanks to goals from Callum Marshall, Josh Ajala and a thunderous strike from Mohamadou Kanté.
From the first whistle, the young Hammers set the tempo. Marshall tested Liverpool goalkeeper Kornel Miściur early on with a header from Rayan Oyebade’s cross, before Preston Fearon began to dictate proceedings in midfield, spraying passes across the pitch and keeping West Ham firmly in charge of possession.
The hosts’ best opening of the first half came midway through the period when Fearon split the Liverpool defence with a perfectly weighted through ball to George Earthy, who was denied by Miściur one on one. At the other end, Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon saw a speculative volley sail harmlessly over as Krisztián Hegyi remained untroubled in the West Ham goal throughout the first half.
Despite a series of promising moments, the two sides went in level at the interval, but it felt like only a matter of time before the breakthrough came.
And just six minutes into the second half, it did. Marshall typified his dogged, determined style by refusing to give up on a loose ball inside the Liverpool box. Nipping in to dispossess Liverpool captain Amara Nallo, the Northern Ireland international poked home from close range to put West Ham in front.
Marshall nicks in and fires us in front 👊 pic.twitter.com/hOckHtEx7e
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 7, 2025
That goal opened the floodgates for a dominant second-half display. Ten minutes later, Ajala doubled the advantage with a moment of real quality. Played in by Emeka Adiele, the winger cut inside from the left, sent his marker the wrong way, and curled an unstoppable right-footed strike into the far corner.
A touch of magic from Ajala 😮💨🚀 pic.twitter.com/adnDySqhqa
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 7, 2025
West Ham’s confidence only grew from there, and soon came the pick of the bunch. With 15 minutes to play, Kanté pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a rocket into the top corner on his so-called weaker left foot.
An absolute ROCKET from Kanté on his “weak” foot 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Nw7UJgdJfv
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 7, 2025
While substitute Jethro Medine earned a late penalty, Liverpool goalkeeper Miściur denied him from the spot. Still, it couldn’t take the shine off a dominant display that perfectly reflected the form our young Hammers have been in.
The result makes it seven unbeaten in Premier League 2, and just one defeat in eleven across all competitions, as our U21s continue to impress and grow with every performance.
West Ham United U21s: Hegyi, Battrum ©, Oyebade, Fearon, Briggs, Mayers, Earthy (Caliste 66), Kanté, Marshall (Landers 66), Ajala (Medine 84), Adiele
Subs not used: Wooster (GK), Brown
Goals: Marshall 51, Ajala 66, Kanté 75
Booked: Oyebade
Liverpool U21s: Misciur, Ramsay, Lucky, Nallo ©, Ewing (Bradshaw 62), Laffey, Morrison, Pilling (Pinnington 85), Figueroa (Davidson HT), Gordon, Doherty (Onanuga 62)
Sub not used: Poytress (GK)
Booked: Laffey
Lincoln: The boys are really relentless in their pursuit of excellence
Head of Academy Coaching and Player Development Greg Lincoln took charge of our U21s once again following the promotion of Academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine to the first team. The young Hammers are unbeaten in six games under him and it was once again a performance to be proud of from Lincoln’s young Hammers.
“We started really well,” he reflected. “Dominated possession, dominated territory, created some good opportunities. Just lacked maybe that cutting edge at the start, that final bit, whether it was the decision-making or the execution of the last pass or the finish. But we kept going and kept going and kept going.
“I think the boys are really relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They carry on from first minute to the last. So I think that was pleasing to see, how they just sustained the pressure really until the goals come. We could have scored more, so it was really pleasing.”
Despite their dominance in the first half, our young Hammers were unable to convert their superiority into goals. That soon changed in the second half as Lincoln’s side added cutting edge to their dominance in the final third.
Lincoln said: “We spoke at half-time around just really trying to improve what we were doing. So it was mainly about us. We recognised we got in some really good situations, showed a lot of control, played some good forward attacking football that was creating opportunities.
“It was just taking care of that last part, the final pass or the finish. And I think, as always, any Liverpool team you play, they're going to come out fighting and they're not just going to stop. They're going to carry on and really make it a game.
“And you have to be at the top of your game for the whole 90 minutes. And you could see that they changed shape a little bit in the second half and for the first part, they were looking to go on the front foot.
“But again, we did well taking the sting out of it, playing through and around and out of that pressure.”
Three outstanding goals for very different reasons, Lincoln was delighted with the way the boys responded in the second half.
He added: “I’ve spoken before about Callum [Marshall] and George [Earthy], two players who really personify the values of the Club and the Academy. And for two first-team players to come down, play with us, the way that they approach the game, as if it's their last. Their conduct, their attitude, their running.
“The first goal epitomised Callum, really. He leaves everything out there on the pitch. The second goal was a fantastic team goal. You've seen that connection between Emeka [Adiele] and Josh Ajala throughout the season. Down that left side, it really worked well out of pressure. And then the third goal from Mo [Kanté], you know, he's capable of that, isn't he? He's powerful, he's strong, he's direct. That strike was really out of the top drawer. I think that would have lit up any stadium.”
