West Ham secured a 1-0 victory over Swansea City on Saturday, moving back into second place in the Championship standings. The decisive goal came in the 34th minute when 19-year-old Divine Mukasa, on loan from Manchester City, converted a pass from Mo Kante. The win halted Swansea’s four-match winning streak and extended West Ham’s unbeaten run to nine matches.

Mukasa described the match as a significant challenge, noting the importance of taking chances against the league leaders. “They’re top so we knew it’d be a big one to win,” he said. “We’ve got to take our opportunities and as soon as we won it high up the park, I went forward, received the pass from Mo and made sure I was clinical in finishing it off.” He added that securing seven points from three games in the week was a strong effort by the team to climb the table.

West Ham’s recent performances include a 6-0 rout of Lincoln on Wednesday, following a 1-1 draw at home against QPR the previous Friday. Despite Swansea creating several scoring opportunities, their keeper Mads Hermansen remained untested throughout the match. Swansea’s Ben Cabango struck the crossbar from close range and missed another effort, while teammate Ronald failed to convert a late chance.

Captain Jarrod Bowen lauded Mukasa for maintaining composure well beyond his years. “Divine has got composure that a player of his age shouldn’t really have. It was an excellent piece of quality,” Bowen remarked.

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo highlighted the team’s defensive resilience. “We defended our box like lions,” he said. Despite their current position in the standings, Nuno emphasized the importance of focusing on consistent progress rather than the table this early in the season. “Yes, we’re second but we don’t look at the table in October. We must focus only on building momentum and winning our duels every single week,” he added.