Super sub Djair Parfitt-Williams grabbed a late winner to earn West Ham United a 1-0 victory over Hull City in the first leg of their Barclays under-21 Premier League Cup final at Upton Park yesterday.

The 19-year-old striker came on as a 60th minute substitute and underlined his potential by netting the East London club’s winner in the 90th minute.

Parfitt-Williams swept in Doneil Henry’s headed flick on from Grady Diangana’s free kick from close range, earning West Ham a slender lead going into second leg of the final at KC Stadium next week.

It was the Bermuda player’s fourth goal in the competition and his first appearance on the pitch on his return from a knee injury.

“I’m delighted for Djair because he has worked so hard to become available for this game,” Terry Westley, the West Ham Academy director, said. “He knocked on the door about a week ago and said I think I can play.

“But he hasn’t played for 2½ months so we had to start him on the bench, so credit to him and all the staff who have helped him get back to quickly.

“The goal will be great for his confidence and we are delighted to have him back.”

Parfitt-Williams signed a two-year deal with West Ham last June and made two appearances for the club’s first team during Europa League qualifiers a month later.

Very little separated the teams till Parfitt-Williams’s late heroics in front of a crowd of 10,267 spectators.

The hosts went immediately on the attack from the kick-off but were nearly pegged back when Hull’s Greg Olley broke through but was thwarted by Raphael Spiegel, West Ham’s goalkeeper.

West Ham began to assert their dominance and had a confident appeal for a penalty denied after Martin Samuelson went over in the box.

The hosts also had a Marcus Brown free kick saved by Rory Watson, the Hull City goalkeeper, while at the other end Olley forced another good save from Spiegel just before half-time.

Westley rung the changes with a triple substitution on the hour mark, George Dobson, Jahmal Hector-Ingram and Stephen Hendrie making way for Moses Makasi, Diangana and Parfitt-Williams.

Hull City, who would have been content with a draw, remained compact and difficult to break down until they conceded a late free kick that ultimately led to Parfitt-Williams’s winner.

West Ham went close to increasing their lead in the first minute of stoppage time when Josh Cullen, the central midfielder, nearly caught Watson out with an ambitious effort from the halfway line.

“It was a tough game, like any cup final would be,” Westley said. “We didn’t expect them to roll over for us, and I thought Hull were very good.

“I think there was a little bit of nerves, due to the youthfulness of our players we have to except that, five of our players tonight can still play for the youth team.

“We weren’t quite as good as we have been for the majority of the season, and for that reason, taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg, I’ll take that.”

Yesterday’s slim victory over Hull City was West Ham Under-21s final match at Upton Park before the Barclay’s Premier League club will move into their new home at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which seats 60,000, at the end of the season.

West Ham announced yesterday that Juventus, who were crowned league champions in Italy yesterday, will provide the opposition for the opening fixture at the club’s new home.

The two teams will compete for the Betway Cup on August 7.