Álvaro Arbeloa played in some great defences but whether he knows how to coach one remains to be seen. Fulham have been fragile since appointing the Spaniard and they were fortunate not to be dragged into a penalty shootout by West Ham as this entertainingCarabao Cup tie drew to a close. West Ham equalised twice during the first half and they almost did it again after Oscar Bobb made it 3-2 in the 78th minute. Nuno Espírito Santo raged at a poor miss from Taty Castellanos, though, and Fulham clambered into the last 16 after resisting late pressure from the Championship pacesetters.
It was a mixed bag as far as Fulham were concerned. West Ham were beaten but not outplayed and will not mind switching focus back to their promotion push. Arbeloa played an experimental lineup and the performance was not convincing.
César Palacios finished with a goal and an assist but Kevin and Emile Smith Rowe disappointed and the Premier League side needed Bobb and Josh King to make the difference after coming off the bench. We need to improve there. We need to be more aggressive when defending.
In the end we need a massive save. If we are not aggressive enough it is my job to improve my players. We have to work a lot.” Before kick-off there was a moving tribute to Ludek Miklosko, the legendary former West Ham goalkeeper, after he passed away this week at the age of 64.
It added emotion to the tie, ensuring the hosts were not short of motivation against the hardest side they have faced since last season’s relegation. Although West Ham rested key players in attack before visiting Millwall on Saturday they responded well after going behind in the 13th minute. They tested Fulham in the air and levelled when Arne Engels’ deep cross found Konstantinos Mavropanos, who rose at the far post and headed across for his fellow defender Morato to nod in his first goal since joining from Nottingham Forest on loan this month.
It was frustrating for the visitors not to maintain control after Palacios darted down the left before picking out Rodrigo Muniz, who headed in the opener after creeping between Mavropanos and Maximilian Kilman. Fulham’s grip remained tentative. Arbeloa had gambled by making nine changes, a risky move after calming the noise around his position with Saturday’s draw at Liverpool.
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