Three of Hammers loanees were involved across the Boxing Day action. Here’s a rundown of who was in action and how they got on!
Flynn Downes helped Southampton to a five-star performance against Swansea City at St Mary’s Stadium as they made it 16 matches unbeaten in the EFL Championship.
The midfielder started the Boxing Day outing with Joe Aribo getting the scoring underway on 17 minutes, when his shot deflected into the bottom corner. In the second half, a mistake at the back from Swansea allowed Samuel Edozie to scramble a second over the line, before a double from Ryan Fraser made sure it would be the home side’s day.
Fraser then turned provider for Che Adams, who added a fifth from close range to seal a convincing win for Russell Martin’s men.
Downes played 57 minutes in the victory, before being replaced by Will Smallbone.
Elsewhere, Keenan Appiah-Forson netted his first professional goal in a big win for Dagenham & Redbridge against Eastleigh in the Vanarama National League.
The 22-year-old midfielder came off the bench in the 64th minute with the scoreline poised at 1-1, after Inih Effiong’s first half strike was levelled out by Aidan Barlow.
Three minutes after coming on, Appiah Forson netted a sumptuous curling strike from outside the area that brushed the inside of the post on its way in.
Eastleigh couldn’t come with the Daggers in the second half, as defender Tom Eastman added a third, before Effiong notched his second of the afternoon to complete the rout. The 4-1 win moves Ben Strevens’ side up to 14th in the table.
ANOTHER FANTASTIC GOAL!
— Dagenham & Redbridge ⚔️ (@Dag_RedFC) December 26, 2023
The ball falls to the substitute on the edge of the area before he curls a superb effort into the top corner!
67’ |⚔️ 2-1 🟠| @westandcoe https://t.co/Fz0VRr2jkf
Kamari Swyer made an appearance late on as Crawley Town made it two consecutive away wins in a row in EFL League Two, beating Gillingham 2-0 at Priestfield Stadium.
The Red devils took the lead through a superb Will Wright free kick on 24 minutes, before Jack Roles added a second on 70 minutes.
Swyer came off the bench in the 88th minute, replacing Danilo Orsi as he helped the side to preserve their clean sheet in the latter stages. Crawley move up to eleventh place in the standings, just three points outside the play-off positions.
Finally, Krisztián Hegyi was an unused substitute as Stevenage put three past Northampton Town at Lamex Stadium.
Jamie Reid scored inside two minutes as the Boro dominated proceedings in front of their home fans. Jordan Roberts and Elliott List added further goals to secure a big win for Steve Evans’ team.
Mason Terry did not see any festive action with Concord Rangers, after their Vanarama National League South match against Billericay Town was postponed. Meanwhile, Freddie Potts and Archie Woods did not feature for Wycombe Wanderers and Dartford respectively.
