“If you don’t get to Upton Park early, you miss the goals.”
That was the greeting for latecomers at the Combination match, and no wonder — West Ham’s second string were two up inside eleven minutes. Joe Gibson struck first, and a rattled Southampton defender kindly helped himself to an own goal to double the lead.

And the Hammers weren’t done. Ken Tucker carved through the Saints for a fine solo effort, and Jimmy Barrett lashed in a 20‑yarder to send us in 4–0 up at the break.

After the restart, Aimer Hall — unlucky until then — finally got his reward to make it a nap hand, before Terry Woodgate tucked away a trademark penalty to complete the half‑dozen.

Southampton kept plugging away and eventually grabbed a consolation three minutes from time, having already forced George Taylor into several sharp stops. But in truth, they were chasing shadows for long stretches. West Ham’s football was crisp, confident, and relentless; only a touch of over‑eagerness stopped the scoreline climbing even higher.