U18 Report: Saints 0-5 West Ham

The hosts were on the back foot early on, when Hammers front man Ademipo Odubeko netted the opener in the seventh minute, leaving Saints struggling to recover.

Sam Bellis missed a chance from the penalty spot in the first period - his effort well saved by Kristjan Hegyi - which represented one of the home side's best scoring opportunities.

West Ham consolidated second period, scoring twice in quick succession shortly after the restart, as Odubeko completed his brace and midfielder Kamarai Simon-Swyer scored the pick of the bunch in the 50th minute, rounding off a smart move with a first-time finish.

Saints stopper Oli Wright played his part in keeping West Ham at bay, preventing further damage, and pulling off particularly good stops from two Veron Parkes efforts - one in each half.

Substitute Gael Kileba presented Odubeko with the chance for his hat-trick nine minutes from time, which he gladly accepted. The winger escaped down the right before pulling the ball back towards West Ham's number nine, who applied the finishing touch from four yards out.

Captain Seamus Keogh and forward Marco Rus were Saints' most effective players, with the skipper dominant in midfield, and Rus a handful in the final third, but neither were able to break down a resilient young Hammers side.

Kai Corbett completed the scoring in second-half stoppage time, with a low right-footed finish, which nestled in the bottom left corner, having threatened minutes before with a fierce shot which sailed narrowly over.