Republic of Ireland U19 international Armstrong Oko-Flex had a debut to remember for West Ham's U23 side.
The St. Kevin's Boys graduate only joined the Hammers from Celtic in June, but has hit the ground running.
Oko-Flex netted a hat-trick in a 6-1 thrashing of Arsenal in Division 1 of Premier League 2.
The 19-year old was joined on the scoresheet by fellow Ireland underage internationals Mipo Odubeko and Conor Coventry.
“It was a good game and a good start for me and the team,” Okoflex told West Ham TV. “We’ve worked hard in pre-season and that showed in the first game of the season, so I’m pleased for the whole team.
“In the first half, we scored our first goal from a high press. I think it probably took half-time for the coaches to show us how we should be pressing down and, with my goal and Conor’s goal and others, we won the ball back with a high press and came out and scored.
A blistering performance from our U23s last night against Arsenal! 🔥
Sit back, relax and enjoy all 𝘀𝗶𝘅 goals 👏🍿 pic.twitter.com/DamX7qtBlx— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 17, 2021
Oko-Flex was joined in attack by Adubeko and Ukraine's talisman, Andriy Yarmolenko.
“We have a very good attack. As you can see, we’ve got competition for places," he said.
“The likes of Mipo up top scored today, Yarmolenko came down and showed his quality as well, then Thierry [Nevers] and Dan Chesters came off the bench as well – we have a lot of attacking threats! It’s great to be a part of that.”
Hammers manager David Moyes and his assistant Stuart Pearce were both on hand to watch the demolition of the young Arsenal side.
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