West Ham player ratings vs Southampton: Josh Ajala wows as gamble pays off

West Ham beat Southampton 4-1 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.

Nuno Espirito Santo made eight changes from the Hammers side that lost 2-1 to Charlton last time out, for the second-round clash.

The trip to St Mary's was a chance to put a positive spin on a campaign that has started very miserably.

The boss chose to gamble, with a side that had an average age of just 22, but it paid off and then some.

It looked like Leo Scienza would make him pay for that decision after just 10 minutes, but his side bounced back.

Josh Ajala levelled in the 41st minute, and then the academy starlet got his second, before Valentin Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen finished it off.

Josh Ajala is the star of the show for West Ham

Ajala was the main man for Nuno's side in the contest.

He notched his first senior goal for the Hammers as he rose above Nathan Wood to head home the equaliser from Lewis Orford's corner.

The 19-year-old then scored another as he picked up the ball from Divine Mukasa then hit a right-footed effort past Daniel Peretz.

That was the end of Ajala's evening, as he was replaced in the 59th minute, after doing his job.

He may have put himself in the fold for a first-team place after a brilliant display at St Mary's.

Nuno will surely be fielding calls from supporters and coaches to give him more opportunities.

Joel Piroe has a difficult evening despite West Ham win

Joel Piroe is supposed to be the man that Nuno can rely on to come up with the magic moments, but that was not the case this time around.

He did have the joint-most touches in the opposition box and joint-most shots, per Fotmob, but he did not manage to get one in the net.

His finishing was not at the required level on the night, and luckily, Ajala's was.

Castellanos coming on and scoring the third, only made the Leeds loanee's miserable night look even worse.

Given that it was only a cup game, Piroe's position in the side is probably safe for now, but he needs to ensure that he performs better going forward.

How West Ham players rated vs Southampton

Finlay Herrick - 5

Joel Veltman - 7

Airidas Golambeckis - 6

Max Kilman - 6

Ezra Mayers - 6

Mohamadou Kante - 6 (off for Engels, 59)

Lewis Orford - 7

Divine Mukasa - 7 (off for Casey, 87)

Keiber Lamadrid - 6 (off for Bowen, 59)

Josh Ajala - 9 (off for Solomon, 59)

Joel Piroe - 5 (off for Castellanos, 59)

Substitutes:

Valentin Castellanos - 7

Arne Engels - 6

Jarrod Bowen - 7

Manor Solomon - 6

Kaelen Casey - N/A