Nuno Espírito Santo turned to his academy for Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie at Southampton, and it delivered the kind of night that reminds you why West Ham's academy pipeline is still spoken about with pride. Six products of the academy started at St Mary's, with Josh Ajala impressing with pace and attack, Lewis Orford controlling possession in the midfield, and Airidas Golambeckis poised on defense. The trio did the heavy lifting in a 4-1 comeback win that ended up as West Ham's biggest away League Cup victory in almost 59 years.
The early signs weren't good. Southampton needed just 10 minutes to go ahead, Léo Scienza composing himself to slot home after a half-cleared cross fell to him on the edge of the box. For a side missing the bulk of its regular first-team, that's exactly the moment an inexperienced starting 11 can fold. Instead, it had the opposite effect. What followed was a young West Ham team that got braver the longer the half went on. They pressed higher, running in behind, and refusing to let the scoreline dictate the tempo. It's the kind of relentlessness supporters have been asking for since before the season even began.
The leveler, four minutes before the break, had academy fingerprints all over it: Orford's corner caused problems Southampton's goalkeeper couldn't deal with, and Ajala rose to head home his first goal in claret and blue, on his full professional debut. Three minutes into the second half, he did it again, latching onto a loose ball in the box and finishing with his right foot to put West Ham 2-1 up. Two goals, 19 years old, first start of his career. It's hard to script a better night.
"This is something I've been dreaming of for a long time," Ajala said after the win. "It's just a surreal moment that it actually happened to score twice on my first start, so I'm just buzzing."
Joshua Ajala 🏴🇳🇬 (2006) vs Southampton (60 min) pic.twitter.com/kwrWv6fXdj
— Ziv’ (@Zivvko) August 25, 2026
West Ham were already ahead when Nuno turned to his bench. The quadruple substitution just before the hour, with Jarrod Bowen, Arne Engels, Manor Solomon and Taty Castellanos all introduced together, weren’t coming to rescue or bail them out. It was about finishing off a job the kids had already started. Castellanos swept in a Joel Veltman cross for 3-1 in the 75th minute, and Bowen added the gloss with a composed finish in the 84th, but neither goal happened without the platform of Ajala, Orford and the other academy players, which also included Golambeckis and Ezra Mayers on defense, Finlay Herrick in goal, Mohamadou Kante and Divine Mukasa manning the midfield, and Keiber LaMadrid joining Ajala in the attack.
"Playing with six Academy boys just made it much easier," 18 year-old Golambeckis said. "No-one's heads went down after they went 1-0 up. I think we just stuck together. Making my debut next to Max [Kilman] was great. Me and him have got a really good connection on and off the pitch as well."
Nuno was full of praise for the group afterward: "I am very proud of my young players and the character and belief they showed," he said, then adding of Ajala specifically, "It is important for Josh. He works hard every day in training to get chances in games. We are delighted he took the opportunity. Ajala is a boy with quality, a lot of things to improve."
Nights like this tend to matter beyond the scoreline. About the win, Nuno added, “We did not start very well, but with these young lads we have to give them time and understand the process of their development. Winning breeds confidence, and it is important now we build momentum from this and keep going.”
It wasn't just about progressing to round three. It was a reminder of the depth Nuno now has to call on, and a platform for Ajala in particular that could translate into more first-team opportunities as West Ham try to build momentum in the Championship.
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