West Ham followed up their first league win of the season with another, seeing off Derby County 3-0 at London Stadium. The scoreline inflated a performance that lost some of its fluency as the game wore on. Joel Piroe volleyed home inside six minutes after Jarrod Bowen's cross was headed back across goal by Taty Castellanos, and West Ham looked in control for long stretches without adding a second.
It took two second-half substitutes, Edvin Austbø and Mohamadou Kanté, to put the game to bed with their first goals for the club, sealing back-to-back wins and a first clean sheet of the campaign heading into the international break. “This is what we want,” Nuno Espírito Santo said after the match. “To have squad players that don’t start and come in with energy and help the team. It’s really positive for our squad.”
Player Ratings
Mads Hermansen - 7: A comfortable, largely untroubled afternoon that ended in a first clean sheet of the season. Exactly the kind of low-key game a goalkeeper wants.
Joël Veltman - 7: Solid in place of Kyle Walker-Peters, doing his job quietly in defense without needing to be heavily tested.
Konstantinos Mavropanos - 7: Assured throughout, marshalling the back line well as Derby rarely threatened in open play.
Max Kilman - 7: Dominant in the air and composed on the ball, part of a defense that kept a first clean sheet of the campaign. When Bowen came off, Kilman wore the armband.
Ollie Scarles - 6: A tidier afternoon defensively, with less exposure than in recent weeks against a Derby side short on attacking threat. Still struggling to show some pace and creativity in the attack.
Jarrod Bowen - 8: The architect of the opening goal, delivering the cross that led to Piroe's goal, and assisted on the Austbø goal. He came close to scoring when he dragged one effort wide and forced a save from Jacob Zetterström before the break.
Divine Mukasa - 7: Continued his excellent recent form in central midfield, adding energy and composure on the back of his brace against Wolves in midweek.
Arne Engels - 7.5: A steady presence alongside Mukasa, helping West Ham control large spells of possession without a standout individual moment. A sliding effort in attack kept the play alive on the Austbø goal. Getting stronger each match.
Manor Solomon - 6: Provided width and pace down the flank, involved in some of West Ham's better spells without directly featuring on the scoresheet.
Joel Piroe - 7.5: Got the goal that mattered most, arriving at the back post to turn in Castellanos' knock-down inside the first six minutes for his second goal in as many games.
Taty Castellanos - 7: Involved early with the flicked header that teed up Piroe's opener, but faded as West Ham's fluency dropped off in the second half. He was subbed off with a knock in the second half.
Substitutes
Edvin Austbø - 8: Made an immediate impact off the bench, netting his first goal for the club to help see out the win and add gloss to the scoreline.
Lewis Orford - 7: Came on in the 64th minute for Castellanos and made a positive impression in the final third, helping West Ham keep control of the game as Derby pushed for a way back
Adama Boiro - 6: A tidy West Ham debut after coming on for Scarles late on, doing his job defensively without needing to do anything spectacular.
Mohamadou Kanté - 8: Also scored his first goal for West Ham after coming on, adding a third with a fine strike from outside the box and putting the result beyond any doubt in the closing stages.
Morato - N/A: Introduced too late in the closing stages alongside Kanté to draw any real conclusions from his brief West Ham debut.
Two wins in five days lifts the mood considerably around London Stadium after a shaky start to the Championship season, and the emergence of Austbø and Kanté as impact options off the bench gives Nuno more attacking depth to call upon. The performance itself, though, came with a concerned caveat. West Ham still look somewhat ponderous in open play as they continue adjusting to the rhythm of Championship football, even if the quality in the squad is proving enough to see off less accomplished sides. Attention now turns to Bolton on Tuesday, before the standout fixture of the autumn: a meeting with Wrexham for the first time since an F.A. Cup tie in 1997.
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