Just to liven up your Sunday lunchtime, before West Ham United host London neighbours Queens Park Rangers, here’s a little quiz.
Can you recall the last Hammers player to score an FA Cup hat-trick?
Captain Jarrod Bowen dreams of FA Cup glory in a West Ham United shirt. A treble against second-tier QPR this afternoon would be a good way to start pursuing that dream.
Neither he nor Michail Antonio, Paolo di Canio, Tony Cottee nor any of the other forwards in the club’s modern history managed to complete a hat-trick in the game’s most historic club competition.
Can you GUESS the three missing players from the list of West Ham hat-trick scorers? ⚽⚽⚽
Who stunned Arsenal in 2016? And who ended an eight-year wait for a Prem treble?
In fact, you would have to go all the way back to 1967 – and the days when Sir Geoff Hurst was wearing claret and blue – for the last West Ham FA Cup treble. Should Bowen, Pablo Felipe, Taty Castellanos or another of the current generation find the target three times against QPR, they would end a 59-year wait.
Speaking of hat-tricks, Hammers starlet Jephthah Medine managed one of his own as Luke Smith’s Under-18 side stormed past Norwich City 4-2 on Saturday.
West Ham United coach Luke Smith hails hat-trick hero Jephthah Medine after Norwich win
Medine scored over 30 goals in the 2023/24 season for West Ham’s Under-16s, and it seems he is bringing that ruthless streak with him onto the next stage these days.
From his position on the left wing, he netted a trio of strikes in a scintillating second-half display as Smith’s side ended the weekend in seventh place in the U18 Premier League South table.
Teammate Andre Dike has unlocked a Jarrod Bowen-esque penchant for cutting inside and curling fierce finishes into the corner with his left boot. From the opposite flank, Medine did the same following Connor Brook’s opener against Norwich.
In onto his right boot, and scoring in style. Dike’s brilliance helped create Medine’s second, before a superb third secured all three points.
“It was nice for Jephthah to score a hat trick,” Smith tells the club’s official website of the 17-year-old, who is the younger brother of Premier League 2 regular Jethro. “He works very hard throughout the week with [Assistant Coach] Ricky [Simons] and the other attacking players, so it was nice for him to see some of that work come to fruition today.
“What was equally as pleasing was his work without the ball. How he tracked runners, his energy to press and set the tone for the team was just as important.”
What is your FAVOURITE West Ham FA Cup memory?
Di Canio v Barthez, perhaps?
Andre Dike leads the way with Joel Kerr in fine form too
Taking his tally to four goals for the season, Medine draws level with Joel Kerr and Luke Thomas. The aforementioned Dike continues to lead the way at Under-18 level, though, with eight from 13 matches.
“We would have liked to have shown our qualities for longer periods in the game. Yet scoring four goals, through being alive and alert in and around the box was a highlight,” adds Smith.
“We had some really nice finishes from individuals, which showed the quality that we have in the final third.
“Each game gives different opportunities to learn and adapt. Today, we made some mistakes, which can happen, but the way we took ownership and reacted with energy meant we could overcome them.
“Teammates helping and building each other back up is the environment we want to create, as it can help us move forward.”
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