WEST HAM BEAT NINE-MAN LINCOLN 6-0 IN CHAMPIONSHIP

West Ham United beat Lincoln City 6-0 at the ProAmpac Stadium after Lincoln had two players sent off in the opening 23 minutes of the Championship match. Tom Hamer was dismissed after 160 seconds, followed by Conor McGrandles, leaving Lincoln to play the majority of the match with nine men. Konstantinos Mavropanos put West Ham ahead in the 45th minute, with substitute Edvin Austbo, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo adding goals after the break. Tomas Soucek came off the bench to score twice late on to complete the scoreline. Lincoln head coach Tom Shaw, who shares the role with Chris Cohen, described the match as a "brutal experience" for his side.

Lincoln were playing their first season back in the Championship after a 65-year absence, having been in non-league football less than a decade ago. West Ham, relegated from the Premier League last season, had won the Europa Conference League against Fiorentina a little over three years earlier. Lincoln's 11,000-capacity stadium contrasted with West Ham's 62,500-seat London Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympic Games. According to reporting on the match, West Ham's squad cost more than £200 million, and defender Max Kilman's £40 million move from Wolves in 2024 alone exceeded the total Lincoln have spent on players in their 142-year history. One report said West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo delivered a half-time team talk on the pitch during the match.

Shaw said he did not believe the defeat would define his team, suggesting the experience of playing for an extended period with nine men against higher-ranked opposition could ultimately benefit the squad. He said Lincoln would not regard themselves as having to play as underdogs going forward. No date was given in the source material for Lincoln's next Championship fixture.