Southampton Beat West Ham 3-2 as Matsuki, Bree and Dobbin End Nine-Match Run

Southampton beat West Ham United 3-2 at London Stadium on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship. Kuryu Matsuki scored in the second minute, James Bree added a second in the 11th minute and Lewis Dobbin made it 3-1 in the 34th minute, and Southampton held on through a late West Ham push to take the win on Matchday 12 of the 2026-27 season.

A fast start at London Stadium

Southampton took the lead inside two minutes. Leo Scienza moved into the penalty area and his shot was saved at close range by West Ham goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. The rebound rolled to Matsuki, who placed it into the opposite corner.

The second goal came after about 10 minutes. Casper Jander crossed and Hermansen tipped the ball away as far as Bree. Bree struck a volley into the roof of the net without breaking stride, and Southampton led 2-0.

West Ham replied in the 24th minute through a player who knows Southampton well. Kyle Walker-Peters, a former Southampton player, moved past Jander on the edge of the box and shot into the top corner to make it 2-1.

West Ham pressed for an equaliser, but Southampton restored the two-goal lead in the 34th minute. Finn Azaz shot straight at Hermansen and Dobbin took the rebound to score. The score stayed 3-1 to Southampton at half time.

West Ham press, Southampton hold on

West Ham pushed again in the second half and created a run of chances. Konstantinos Mavropanos had a drive saved by Southampton goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Max Kilman crashed a shot against the crossbar, and Peretz saved an Arne Engels shot with his legs.

The home side finally scored again in stoppage time. Substitute Tomas Soucek curled in a goal in the 93rd minute, the third minute of added time, with Taty Castellanos credited with the assist in the match data. The goal cut the lead to 3-2 with little time left.

There was still one more chance. Peretz kept out a header from Castellanos to preserve the win, and the match ended West Ham United 2, Southampton 3.

What the result means

West Ham are managed by Nuno Espirito Santo and were relegated on the final day of last season. They would have gone top of the Championship with a win on Saturday. Instead, their nine-match unbeaten run ended at home. Fans who stayed booed the team off at full time, and thousands of seats were empty by the end of the match.

For Southampton, the result closes the gap in the promotion race. The club was deducted four points at the start of the season, and this win moves Southampton to two points behind West Ham. The report from PA Media described the result as a statement win for Southampton in the Championship promotion race, won at the ground of the pre-season title favourites.

The final scorers were Matsuki in the 2nd minute, Bree in the 11th and Dobbin in the 34th for Southampton, and Walker-Peters in the 24th and Soucek in the 93rd for West Ham. No post-match quotes were included in the confirmed reports used for this article, so none are quoted here.