Not many of West Ham United’s senior stars covered themselves in glory during Saturday’s FA Cup win over Burton Albion, but Anton Ferdinand was pleased with the performance of Ezra Mayers.
Mayers is one of West Ham United’s most exciting young players and the defender got another chance to strut his stuff in the world’s oldest cup competition, having previously started against QPR in the third-round last month.
Mayers played alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos and Max Kilman in a three-man defensive unit as West Ham beat Burton 1-0 thanks to Crysencio Summerville’s brilliant goal in extra-time.
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It wasn’t a vintage display from West Ham, of course. Nuno Espirito Santo made ten changes to the team who drew with Manchester United in the Premier League on Tuesday, of which Mayers was one.
Ferdinand, who also progressed through the famed West Ham academy, was delighted with the teenager’s outing.
Taking to social media platform X, Ferdinand wrote: “Another solid performance by young Ezra Mayers for the Hammers this afternoon. For me and so many as West Ham fans, there’s nothing better than seeing academy players in our first team!”
Ezra Mayers statistics for West Ham United against Burton
Burton did have some good chances, although to suggest they were worthy winners would perhaps be wrong.
The game was a classic FA Cup tie in many respects. On a freezing cold day at the Pirelli Stadium, the hosts outdid Nuno’s side for energy in the first half, before West Ham came on strong in the second.
| Burton vs West Ham statistics | Ezra Mayers |
| Minutes played | 120 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Accurate passes | 67/81 (83%) |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Clearances | 11 |
| Interceptions | 3 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Ground duels won | 3/7 |
| Aerial duels won | 5/7 |
While West Ham were not fantastic, they did enough to get over the line and Mayers played his part.
Mayers did record the assist for Summerville’s goal, although the strike was largely down to the Dutchman’s individual quality.
Still, as is shown in the statistics above, the 19-year-old also made significant defensive contributions too.
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Ezra Mayers now looking for further academy success at West Ham
The West Ham academy have enjoyed success this season, with their U18s and U21s sides getting good results.
Mayers captained the West Ham U21s to their win over Boston United in the National League Cup earlier this month and may feature when they play their semi-final clash against Tamworth on Tuesday, 17 February, 2026.
West Ham are the only developmental team left in the competition. Boreham Wood play Truro City in the other semi-final.
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