Premier League 2 Division Two table-toppers West Ham encountered little resistance from their Newcastle counterparts at Rush Green on Monday as they extended their seasonal unbeaten run to thirteen games.

The game had the look of a foregone conclusion within just five minutes, when the unmarked Anthony Scully headed in a Bernado Rosa cross from close range.

There was almost an instant response from the Magpies two minutes later though when a loose ball in the box fell to Rosaire Longelo. However he was unable to avoid hitting a defender on the line with his shot.

An enforced reshuffle caused by injury to Ben Johnson saw the arrival of home substitute Emmanuel Longelo - younger brother of Newcastle's Rosaire, himself a former West Ham trainee.

The home side came close to doubling their lead in the 32nd minute when Jeremy Ngaka headed wide but the clinching second goal arrived just seconds later when Nathan Holland slipped a low shot past Dan Langley.

Newcastle were then forced into a change of their own; central defender Ludwig Francillette unable to continue and replaced by 18 year-old Lucas Gamblin for his competitive reserve debut.

A double replacement by the home side just after the hour mark brought Dan Kemp into the action and the livewire right winger brought another dimension to the West Ham attack.

Within three minutes Kemp had taken advantage of some defensive slackness by the visitors and found Oladapo Afolayan who teed up Alfie Lewis for a routine finish to make it 3-0.

Kemp then almost got West Ham's fourth in the 67th minute when he was one on one with Langley but the visiting custodian was quickly off his line to block.

That only prevented the inevitable fourth though, scored by Holland six minutes later after a rapid counter-attack following a rare away attack - Jack Young's shot warming Joseph Anang's gloves. 

A linesman's flag prevented a fifth goal in the 83rd minute but the final scoreline was a fair reflection of the difference between the two sides, West Ham's passing precision and movement light years ahead of ours.

The Premier League 2 Division Two fixture had been scheduled for Dagenham & Redbridge but was switched to a venue owned by the Hammers and used for their Women's Super League games.

Biffa