The Blues endured a difficult first half on the road, with West Ham captain Lewis Orford breaking the deadlock from a free-kick before Preston Fearon doubled the hosts’ advantage with a close-range tap-in. The Hammers made it three before the interval when Josh Ajala added another close-range finish on the half-hour mark.

Just two minutes into the second half, the task became even tougher, when defender Olutayo Subuloye was shown his second yellow card, forcing the Blues to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men. West Ham took full advantage, with Ajala netting his second of the evening before Fearon completed his brace with a deflected strike to make it 5-0.

The hosts were later reduced to 10 men themselves, when Emeka Adiele was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Dujuan Richards. However, despite being back on level terms numerically and creating a handful of promising moments, the Blues returned to Cobham frustrated after a heavy defeat.

Difficult start

This London derby burst into life from the opening whistle, with both sides setting a fierce tempo in the early exchanges. It was West Ham who fashioned the first sight of goal when Fearon let fly with a drilled low effort from outside the area, but Blues keeper Max Merrick was alert and got down well to push the strike away.

The hosts soon turned that early momentum into a breakthrough. Mohamadou Kante was brought down just outside the penalty area, giving West Ham a dangerous free-kick opportunity. Orford stepped up and whipped his effort into the top corner beyond Merrick’s reach, to give the Hammers the lead inside the opening 15 minutes.

West Ham continued to press and carved out another opening soon after. Jethro Medine used his pace down the flank before delivering a cross into the box for Ajala, who met it with a first-time volley, though his effort rippled the side netting to Chelsea’s relief.

Our task became even tougher when the hosts doubled their advantage. Orford again tested Merrick with a low drive and, while the Blues keeper did well to parry the initial shot, Fearon reacted quickest to the rebound, tapping home into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Using their momentum, the Hammers struck again shortly after. A swift counter-attack saw Josh Landers surge through the middle, drawing Merrick off his line before squaring the ball for Ajala to finish into the bottom corner and extend the home side's lead to three.

Landers thought he had added a fourth as the half edged into stoppage time, nodding home from close range. However, the assistant referee raised his flag for offside, ruling out the goal and bringing a frustrating first half to a close for Chelsea.

Tough moments continue

Harry Hudson made a double change at the interval in an attempt to shift the momentum, introducing Richards in place of Leo Cardoso and Justin Osagie for Kaiden Wilson to refresh the side.

However, the challenge became even tougher for the Blues after the restart, as West Ham maintained their aggressive approach. Matters worsened shortly after the break when Subuloye was shown a second yellow card, reducing Chelsea to 10 men and leaving us with an uphill battle.

The hosts quickly capitalised on their numerical advantage to add a fourth goal. Adiele burst down the flank and picked out Ajala with a cut-back, allowing the attacking midfielder to smash a finish into the bottom corner and claim his second goal of the evening.

West Ham showed no signs of easing off and soon found a fifth. Adiele was again at the heart of the move, driving forward before pulling the ball back for Fearon. The forward struck from outside the area and, after taking a heavy deflection off a Blues defender, it bounced beyond Merrick and into the net to complete Fearon’s brace and make it 5-0.

Hammers reduced to 10

West Ham were also reduced to 10 men later in the contest when Adiele became the second player of the evening to be shown a red card, after a heavy challenge on Richards just before he broke into the penalty area.

From the resulting free-kick, we forced Tom Wooster into his first meaningful save of the night. Jesse Derry stepped up and struck a powerful effort on target, stinging the palms of the Hammers keeper as he pushed it away.

In the closing stages, the Blues searched for a late response, but time was not on our side on a difficult evening. Despite flashes of intent, the full-time whistle brought an end to a disappointing night in east London, one we will be keen to put behind us.

What is next

Chelsea Under-21s will be in action on Wednesday evening in the Premier League International Cup, as we host Real Sociedad at Kingsmeadow in our final group-stage fixture. Kick-off is scheduled for 7pm. Tickets are still available for the match. Chelsea members, men’s and women’s season ticket holders and under-20s are eligible for a free ticket, while general admission tickets are priced at £4.

If you can't make it to Kingsmeadow, the game will also be shown live on the Chelsea Official App and website.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Max Merrick; Genesis Antwi, Kaiden Wilson (Justin Osagie h-t), Olutayo Subuloye, Landon Emenalo; Kiano Dyer, Samuel Rak-Sakyi (Harrison McMahon 52), Reggie Walsh; Leo Cardoso (Dujuan Richards h-t), Shumaira Mheuka (c), Jesse Derry
Unused subs: Freddy Bernal, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen
Booked: Subuloye 24, 47 Derry 41, Emenalo 47
Sent off: Subuloye 47

West Ham (3-4-2-1): Tom Wooster, Jethro Medine, Luis Brown (Regan Clayton 69), Lewis Orford (c), Josh Briggs, Rayan Oyebade, Preston Fearon (Elisha Sowunmi 81), Mohamadou Kante (Ryan Battrum 69), Josh Landers (Dan Cummings 77), Josh Ajala, Emeka Adiele
Unused sub: Reece Byrne
Scorers: Orford 15, Fearon 26, 59, Ajala 32, 57
Booked: Battrum 80, Orford 90+5
Sent off: Adiele 65