Tue 25 Aug 2026 League Cup 2nd Round
Southampton 1 West Ham United 4
by Dan George for BBC Sport England at St Mary's

West Ham United came from behind to impressively beat fellow Championship side Southampton in the Carabao Cup at St Mary's.

Saints took the lead after 10 minutes as Leo Scienza snuck a low shot into the bottom corner from just outside of the area.

But the Hammers equalised just before the break when Joshua Ajala headed a corner home after Saints keeper Daniel Peretz misjudged the flight of the ball.

Ajala added a second early in the second half with a right-footed strike in the box before substitute Valentin Castellanos scored a third with 15 minutes remaining.

Jarrod Bowen then added a fourth late on, cutting inside on his left foot before bending a strike into the far corner of the net.

West Ham will find out their third-round opponents when the draw is made on Wednesday night.

Southampton took the lead in a reduced capacity St Mary's Stadium where Tonda Eckert fielded a strong side against a heavily rotated West Ham team.

Scienza picked up possession at the top of the box while being pushed right by the West Ham defence and managed to produce a low shot back across goal into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

The Hammers found an equaliser just before the break when Lewis Orford whipped in a corner that was misjudged by Peretz, leaving Ajala to head into an empty net at the back post.

West Ham then took the lead early on in the second half. Jack Stephens half-cleared the ball but played it straight to Ajala who took a heavy touch before regathering and knocked it into the net.

Castellanos added a third in the 75th minute after Joel Veltman broke into space down the right and pulled the ball back to the forward, who knocked it home before running off to celebrate with the delighted away support.

Bowen then concluded proceedings, showing his class late on as he cut inside off the right and curled a strike into the far corner of the net.

Player of the match 66 J. Ajala 8.52
Southampton Leo Scienza (10')
West Ham United J. Ajala (41', 53') V. Castellanos (75') J. Bowen (84')
Assists West Ham United L. Orford (41', 84'), J. Veltman (75')
Venue: St. Mary's Stadium Attendance: 15,867