West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini took responsibility
as his side were bundled out of the Carabao Cup in humiliating fashion by
League One Oxford United.
The Hammers
arrived at the Kassam Stadium on the back of an outstanding win over Manchester
United to reach the heights of fifth in the Premier League, but Karl Robinson’s
side superbly outplayed and over-powered their illustrious opponents, who ended
a complete shambles.
Oxford, currently
12th in League One, were high on confidence after a record-breaking 6-0 win at
Lincoln City at the weekend and this was a famous and richly merited triumph.
“The whole
team didn’t play well. Not only did we concede four goals, but we didn’t create
too many chances,” Pellegrini said.
“We missed too
many passes from the beginning and the responsibility is first on me because I
picked the players, and second on the team that didn’t compete.
“It’s easy to
say that we played very badly, but Oxford did everything they needed to win
this game. They played with a lot of motivation, with desire and we didn’t play
well.”
Both sides fielded
much-changed sides and the only surprise was West Ham actually survived for so
long before conceding after 55 minutes when Oxford central defender Elliott
Moore shot across Roberto.
Oxford, who missed
clear chances in the first half through Cameron Brannagan and Anthony Forde,
almost increased their lead immediately as Roberto saved brilliantly from Jamie
Mackie.
But there was no
escape for West Ham as substitute Matty Taylor turned in Mark Sykes’ cross with
19 minutes left.
Substitute Tariqe
Fosu, a hat-trick hero at Lincoln City, raced clear from the halfway line to
score with great composure after 84 minutes to extinguish any hopes of a West
Ham comeback.
The agony was not
over yet for West Ham boss Pellegrini and his abject side as Shandon Baptiste
deservedly capped a man-of-the-match showing with a classy fourth.
Oxford host fellow
League One side Sunderland, who won 1-0 at Sheffield United, in the fourth
round in the week commencing 28 October.
“Looking at
the scoreboard – 4-0 against West Ham and a very strong West Ham – this will
probably go down as one of the biggest results at the Kassam in recent
years,” Oxford boss Robinson said.
The EFL Cup
represented a realistic opportunity for West Ham to win a trophy, but
Pellegrini risked this shock by making nine changes, leaving out danger men
Sebastien Haller and Felipe Anderson.
He paid the price
as the Hammers produced a desperate display, much to the annoyance of the fans
who packed one corner of this three-sided stadium.
West Ham were
lethargic, off the pace and apparently complacent as they were hustled out of
their stride as the track-suited Pellegrini failed to inspire his team.
He kept Haller
back until they were a goal down but by then the momentum was flowing
inexorably in the direction of Oxford, who should have inflicted even heavier
punishment as they ran riot towards the end.
Jack Wilshere
wasted an opportunity to stake a claim as he was over-run by the energy of
Baptiste. Wilshere looked a spent force in contrast.
It was reminiscent
of West Ham’s loss at League One AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup fourth round last
season as they lacked heart and stomach for the fight, surrendering without
suggesting for one moment they would get back into this game once Oxford went
ahead.
West Ham have
shown signs of stability and improvement in the Premier League, and this was an
altered line-up, but their performance was inexcusable and all the plaudits
must go to the underdogs.
“I thought it
was a poor performance from everyone,” said Hammers captain Zabaleta.
“We feel sorry about the performance tonight and sorry to the away fans who came to the game. It was just a bad night.”-BBC.
