After 19 perfect penalties, Angelo Ogbonna missed the 20th, and West Ham crashed out of the Carabao Cup to the B team of Championship Blackburn.
It is another chance of a first major trophy since 1980 wasted by West Ham. This 2-2 draw and 10-9 shootout defeat was damaging for David Moyes, a further dent in a season which isn’t going his way.
The pressure is mounting on Moyes, who didn't do the post-match press conference after this loss. Instead his assistant Mark Warburton spoke to the media, saying it was a 'disappointing' and 'frustrating' evening.
Moyes would love a reassuring Premier League win against Leicester on Saturday. It was largely with their league positions in mind that both West Ham and Blackburn made 11 changes from their last outings.
Moyes wrote in his programme notes 'it would be remiss of me’ not to rest impending World Cup players, and England boss Gareth Southgate will have appreciated seeing Declan Rice enjoy a rare rest.
Nevertheless, West Ham’s team should have been strong enough to win this. Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals started – and Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Gianluca Scamacca were brought off the bench – but Blackburn refused to go away.
They have a top-of-the-table Championship clash with Burnley on Sunday, hence their changes. Here, though, Jon Dahl Tomasson's young team imposed themselves on Premier League West Ham.
Dilan Markanday should have scored for the visitors inside three minutes when Nayef Aguerd’s back pass was short. West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola – named in France’s World Cup squad shortly before kick-off – rushed out to save the one-on-one.
Yet there was no stopping Jack Vale when he collected Tayo Eden’s forward pass and slipped the ball through Areola’s legs for 1-0 after six minutes. ‘How s*** must you be? Our first team’s at home,’ sang Blackburn’s supporters.
It was 1-1 after 38 minutes when Antonio out-muscled Clinton Mola, who claimed he was fouled over on West Ham’s right wing. Antonio’s ball into the box was blocked but Fornals still pounced to score.
Antonio made it 2-1, driving the ball into the bottom corner with a nice finish.
Yet in the 88th minute, Blackburn substitute Ben Brereton Diaz scored a sizzling strike for 2-2, sending this tie to a shootout at the London Stadium.
Bowen was among those who stepped up to coolly slot home his spot-kick. Unfortunately, it seems he has not made Southgate’s 26-man England squad for the World Cup.
When Ogbonna stepped up to take the 20th penalty of the shootout, having seen the previous 19 takers score theirs, he looked nervous. He went for power, smashing his shot against the crossbar and West Ham were out of this year’s Carabao Cup at the expense of Blackburn.
