Sat 5 Sep 2026 Championship
West Ham United 3 Derby County 0

Substitute Edvin Austbo scored his first goal for West Ham to help them overcome Derby County and string back-to-back wins together for the first time since January. Joel Piroe had put the dominant Hammers up early on, meeting a knock-down header from Taty Castellanos to prod home from point-blank range. Rams goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom made a number of saves to keep the visitors in the contest until late on, only for Austbo to put the game beyond the Rams with a slotted finish in the 87th minute. Mohamadou Kante also came off the bench to score his first goal for the club, completing West Ham's second win in five days after they beat Wolves 4-2 for their first Championship triumph of the season.

West Ham thoroughly outplayed Derby for the three points just a day after Daniel Kretinsky increased his stake in the club to 46%, which has effectively frozen former Newcastle director Amanda Staveley out from her attempts to invest in the London club. While the boardroom moves made headlines before kick-off, it was captain Jarrod Bowen who helped shift the focus back to action in the early minutes at the London Stadium. It was his cross to the back post that Castellanos cushioned back across goal for Piroe to prod home.

Derby never recovered from the early setback, with their day only made worse by the early injury to Rhian Brewster which forced Rams boss John Eustace to call on David Ozoh for the first time since the midfielder returned to the club from Crystal Palace. It took a fine save from Zetterstrom to keep Konstantinos Mavropanos from doubling the advantage before the break, while Bowen and Castellanos also went close for the hosts. Zetterstrom also kept out attempts from Bowen, Arne Engel and Manor Solomon after the interval as the hosts searched for a second, while the closest Derby came threatening West Ham was a late shot from Lars-Jorgen Salvesen that went narrowly wide. Austbo eventually made it 2-0 after a shot from Bowen was deflected into his path in the box, and Kante added a fine third for the hosts with an effort from the edge of the area.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito told BBC Radio London. "A very good week! It's very good to have games where we achieved good results and good performances, which is so positive. There is always that concern [being just 1-0 up for so long] but at the same time if you can defend it well, a clean sheet is so important for us. It took some time, being resilient, staying in the game and waiting for the right moments, but it's positive managing the game. And when we had space we did well to kill the game."

Derby County head coach John Eustace told BBC Radio Derby. "After a slow start I thought we grew into the game really well, and coming in at half-time I always felt we would get opportunities. I was hoping that with the positive changes made as the second half went on that we would make a better impact, so I'm disappointed that we didn't really create any clear cut chances. But I thought there was a lot in that second half that we can take away from today. The two late goals were really disappointing, and it certainly flatters them a little bit."

Player of the match 35 E. Austbo average rating 7.70
Half Time West Ham United 1 Derby County 0
West Ham United J. Piroe (6') Goal, E. Austbø (87') Goal, M. Kante (90'+5) Goal County Assists V. Castellanos (6'), E. Austbø (90'+5)
Venue:London Stadium
Attendance:61,180
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