By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
Make no mistake about it, Fulham were the better team and deserved to win. But West Ham did not disgrace themselves in this 3-2 defeat. Far from it.
The Hammers went behind twice and came back twice, then almost did it for a third time when Taty Castellanos somehow failed to convert Jarrod Bowen’s wonderful late delivery. Ultimately, this was a game won from the substitutes’ bench.
I’d said beforehand that Nuno Espírito Santo had virtually nothing to lose against Fulham, and I don’t think this defeat changes that. West Ham gave Premier League opposition a proper game and our real objective this season remains completely unaffected.
Fulham eventually flex their muscles
I’d always felt in the build-up that Nuno would want to keep West Ham in the game until the point where he could bring on his substitutes.
That’s pretty much what happened.
Despite Fulham having most of the possession and threat in the first half, West Ham went into the break at 2-2 thanks to goals from Morato and Pablo.
Nuno then introduced Bowen and Manor Solomon, and suddenly the game felt much more even.
Unfortunately, Fulham boss Álvaro Arbeloa was able to flex his muscles from his own substitutes’ bench, and that was ultimately where the difference became apparent.
By the time the game drew towards a close, there was a definite gulf in speed and technique. Fulham might have struggled in the Premier League this season, but their forward players had more than enough pace and movement to cause the Hammers back line problems.
Oscar Bobb’s 77th-minute goal eventually proved decisive.
Interestingly, it was almost the exact opposite of what happened when West Ham’s superior squad eventually made the difference at Bolton.
This time we were the team facing opponents with the greater quality waiting on the bench.
Pablo scores his first West Ham goal during the EFL Cup game against Fulham
West Ham kept coming back
But there was plenty to like about West Ham.
Every time we went behind, we tried to come back. Twice we managed it and we very nearly did it for a third time. Bowen definitely made an impact, as did Solomon, and West Ham kept taking the game to Fulham right until the end.
Castellanos really should have made it 3-3 from Bowen’s excellent delivery on 87 minutes. It was the sort of opportunity strikers usually gobble up.
Nuno had made significant changes to the team, just as he did when West Ham’s youngsters demolished Southampton 4-1 in the previous round. This time the Premier League quality eventually told, particularly from the substitutes’ bench.
But West Ham gave a decent account of ourselves, showed plenty of character and never gave up. After the 6-0 demolition of Wrexham sent confidence soaring, I don’t think this result will interrupt that momentum.
For a team whose only real objective this season is promotion, I don’t think this defeat causes us too much bother.
I think we’ve done reasonably well in transfer market! We’ve bought in over £200m and achieved good prices for each sale. We’ve will obviously have to reinforce our defence we need 2 new centre backs and a new goalkeeper our current options aren’t good enough as we saw last season! We’ve bought also need a couple of aggressive midfielders who can win possession and drive forward into the oppositions 18 yard area.And at least one top quality striker,two if we have the funds? The premier league standards are getting better every season,and you need real quality to compete at that level!
Nuno,got his tactics and formation wrong again. Subs not great either.
Gonzo before the Wrexham game you said you don’t have trust in Nuno.
One excellent win against another poor Championship team doesn’t make a summer.
Here in lies your answer.
The senior players thought they were PL players again.
Kilman,KWP,Mavro played like last season once more.
We are re-building so this is as expected. Ave age going the right way and the players coming in offer us something different.
Would have been nice to beat a PL team but the extra league games this season means a shorter cup run isn’t a bad thing.
I think Solomon had a very good chance at 2-2 and Mavro also. Though Fulham looked the better team we now know our squad can compete in the Premier League as Fulham showed the way at Liverpool.
From what I’ve seen it’s likely we are good enough for promotion, but I doubt good enough to stay up without serious additions. There’s a hell of a difference between the quality of premier league and championship.
IF we can beat Millwall then this is a results week I’m happy with, rather than vice versa
Yes one would hope that Koppen is busy preparing for a hoped for return to the top flight by identifying the necessary quality needed at centre back and elsewhere. Kretinsky also needs to be realistic about what that will cost us, it can’t be done on the cheap.
have a look at how many players have sold or released from there squad since summer 24 Vs how many we have brought in.
you’ll see why we have limited options.
That’s not to say most of them shouldn’t have gone…