West Ham players rush to crying ball boy's aid after celebrating fans fall through advertising boards

West Ham stars rushed to the aid of a stricken ball boy after celebrating supporters crashed through advertising at Selhurst Park.

Hammers fans flooded down the stand after Jarrod Bowen 's strike against Crystal Palace on Saturday. The surge caused advertising hoardings at the bottom of the away section to collapse, causing a host of fans and the hoardings themselves to fall onto a ballboy who was sitting on the edge of the pitch.

Concerned West Ham players swiftly leapt to his help in an effort to get him out after spotting him underneath the pile. Soucek lifted the broken bit of hoardings up to allow him to crawl out, while both Soucek and Bowen were then spotted talking to the youngster.

Once the ball boy was safely out, West Ham players checked on him before he was led away by stadium security. Players were seen chatting to him once again come the full-time whistle, with one player giving the youngster his shirt.

Fans were full of praise for midfielder Tomas Soucek for spotting the danger. Taking to Twitter, they wrote: "Kudos to Tommy Soucek for spotting the danger as a ball boy fell under the advertising barrier, while West Ham celebrated the second goal."

Another supporter said: "Fair Play to Soucek and Bowen for helping the young ball boy stuck under the barrier. Warms the old cockles for sure."

Praise continued to come throughtout the afternoon. Another wrote: "Good to see the West Ham players checking on the Crystal Palace ball boy when the stand barricade collapsed on him."

A final fan said: "West Ham score and the away fans just fall through the holdings at the front and land on top of the ball boy. Luckily he seems to be okay. Fair play to Soucek and the other West Ham players who checked up on him.".

Speaking after the game, Bowen said: "Yeah, I just managed to grab him out as quickly as possible. It was just instinct to do it. I’ve seen him after the game, he’s got my top now. He’s smiling. He’s all good now, which is good to see."

Hammers fans twice enjoyed celebrations against Palace. Czech midfielder Soucek gave the Hammers the lead midway through the second half. And fans were up on their feet again just five minutes after Soucek's opener. Bowen struck to double his side's lead after finishing off a stunning counter-attack.

West Ham had lost their opening game of the season 2-1 against Aston Villa at the London Stadium. Palace were also on the losing side on the opening day as they went down 2-1 to Brentford.

West Ham are back in action on Wednesday as they welcome Bournemouth for a second round Carabao Cup clash. Meanwhile, Palace are also in League Cup action in midweek as they host Norwich on Tuesday evening.

The two sides then face Manchester City and Chelsea respectively in their next Premier League fixtures towards the end of the month.

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