Hammers stay top

West Ham United's development squad remain top of the Premier League Group 1 table after beating Bolton Wanderers this evening.

Jordan Spence - who made a brief cameo for the first team when replacing James Tomkins late on in the 4-1 win over Southampton on Saturday - grabbed the only goal of a keenly-fought encounter 13 minutes into the second half to keep Ian Hendon's youngsters top of the pile.

The development squad have now won six of their opening eight games - including wins over Everton and Arsenal - losing just once, against tonight's opponents in the corresponding fixture last month.

And this evening's victory keeps them three points ahead of closest rivals Arsenal, who beat Everton 2-0 on Merseyside tonight to keep the pressure on Hendon's squad.

The eight-team league - which also contains West Bromwich Albion, Reading, Norwich and Blackburn - continues until Christmas when the top two teams from each of the three divisions - plus the two best third-placed teams - form an eight-team Elite Group in the New Year.

The winners of the Elite Group will face the winners of the Tier One and Tier Two groups - consisting of the remaining squads - in a semi-final play off, with the second and third-placed teams from the Elite group facing each other in the other semi-final.

The winners of the two semis go head to head in the Final to find the overall winners of the inaugural Barclays Under 21s Premier League.

West Ham's next fixture is this Friday, 26th October against Everton at Rush Green Stadium. The match kicks off at 7pm kick off and entrance is free for season ticket holders or £3 adults and £1 for children.