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Greg Lincoln’s West Ham United Under-21s bounced back from their National League Cup final heartbreak in perfect fashion with a 4-2 victory away to Blackburn Rovers on Friday.
Just three days after Boreham Wood triumphed on penalties at Meadow Park – goalkeeper Finlay Herrick endured a moment to forget when he spilled a 93rd minute equaliser into his own net – the claret and blue kids had smiles on their faces once again.
West Ham United will be represented in the Premier League 2 play-offs for a third straight season.
Heartbreak for Herrick and West Ham! 😩
What did you make of that National League Cup final loss?
Goals from Josh Ajala, Preston Fearon, Junior Robinson and Dan Cummings were enough to see off a spirited Blackburn outfit in Lancashire.
As a result, Greg Lincoln will be leading his charges into the last-16 as another shot at silverware presents itself for his beaten finalists.
Josh Ajala and Preston Fearon score in West Ham United win
“It was always going to be a challenge for the players after the emotional rollercoaster of Tuesday night,” Lincoln tells the official West Ham website. “We continued to frame it as bridging the gap into senior football.
“To have a long, sustained career, that’s what you have to do; play Saturday and Tuesday throughout the season, and that was a replica of that today. At times, you will be tired; tired hearts, tired minds. Tired physically, psychologically, emotionally.
“But you have to find a way to get through. I was really proud of the boys, the way that they stuck together and ultimately turned it around, coming from behind twice to win the game.”
Fresh from signing a new contract, Josh Ajala has been in ‘unplayable’ form throughout much of 2026. The free-scoring forward endured a rare off-night in the National League Cup decider, but he was back on the scoresheet here.
Fortunately, Fabrizio Romano was very wrong…
What should the next steps for Josh Ajala be at West Ham?
Junior Robinson and Daniel Cummings on target at Blackburn
Ajala has a one-in-two record for the reserves this season. His 12th in 24 matches came when he curled home stylishly from the edge of the box, cancelling out Blackburn’s opener in a six-goal second-half.
The magical Preston Fearon now has double figures, too. Zero goals in 2024/25, ten in 2025/26. Right-back Junior Robinson added a third, putting the Hammers ahead for the first time on the day, before Scotland Under-19 striker Cummings made sure.
While the ‘sensational’ Josh Landers added a cup final goal to his tally in midweek, his compatriot is bouncing back impressively from an injury-hit start to his career this side of Hadrian’s Wall.
“Whenever you play a Blackburn team, they keep you honest,” Lincoln added. “They’re always really hard-working, always very well organised, and they’ll fight to the very end, which they did today.
“There are lots of things we can improve on and we’ll endeavour to continue doing that. But I think the big tick in the box today was around our character, personality and togetherness.”
West Ham will face local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on April 4th before the play-offs get underway.
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