West Ham won the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1999 as they beat Arsenal 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
The Under-18 Premier League South champions fell behind inside the opening ten minutes, as the Gunners took the lead through Omari Benjamin as the ball fell to him in the box.
But West Ham hit back, and by half-time were two goals in front themselves. George Earthy and Callum Marshall struck in the space of two minutes, before Gideon Kodua added a stunning third to give the Hammers real control.
The Gunners pushed in the second-half to get themselves back into the match, and certainly had their moments to do so, but Jack Wilshere’s side could not find the clinical edge and Kaelan Casey put the result beyond doubt with ten minutes as he headed home from a corner, before Josh Briggs added further gloss to the scoreline in the closing stages.
Arsenal made a strong start to the match despite going in as underdogs and they took a deserved lead, as Amario Cozier-Duberry had an effort saved and the rebound fell for Benjamin to produce the finish.
The response from West Ham was swift though, as two goals in less than two minutes turned the match on its head. Earthy drove towards the box, had the ball deflected back into his path and produced a brilliant finish to get the Hammers level, before Kodua whipped in a superb cross and Marshall was there to produce the finish to stun the home fans.
A third followed before half-time, as the Hammers ruthlessly pounced on any errors coming their way. Josh Robinson was caught on the ball and Kodua pounced, floating the ball perfectly over Noah Cooper’s head and into the empty net.
Arsenal had chances to eat into the deficit after the break, with Cozier-Duberry wasting a good opportunity and Ethan Nwaneri unable to keep his composure when the ball fell to him six yards out. Michal Rosiak had an effort well-saved as he skipped into space.
Those all proved to be costly, as West Ham started the celebrations early in front of the away end. A corner was swung to the back post, where Casey rose highest and, with his final touch before being forced off with cramp, powered a header home. There was still time for Briggs to come on, and with his first touch he turned home to cap a night nobody in the Hammers’ camp will forget in a hurry.
