Oscar Bobb’s 78th-minute strike sends Fulham past West Ham into Carabao Cup last 16

Oscar Bobb's 78th-minute strike completed a 3-2 win for Fulham over West Ham at West Ham on 15 September 2026, sending the visitors into the Carabao Cup last 16. West Ham had twice levelled in the first half before Bobb's late finish secured Fulham's progression.

Álvaro Arbeloa named an experimental Fulham side, making nine changes, amid a spell in which the team have been described as fragile since his appointment. The visitors were fortunate not to be dragged into a penalty shootout by West Ham and required substitutes Oscar Bobb and Josh King to make the difference after coming off the bench. César Palacios finished with a goal and an assist, while Kevin and Emile Smith Rowe were singled out as disappointing. "I was a bit upset at half-time," Arbeloa said. "I am asking how we can concede these two goals. So easy for me. 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 former West Ham goalkeeper who died this week at the age of 64, and the hosts responded strongly after Fulham took the lead in the 13th minute. Palacios darted down the left and picked out Rodrigo Muniz, who crept between Konstantinos Mavropanos and Maximilian Kilman to nod in the opener. West Ham tested Fulham in the air and levelled when Arne Engels' deep cross found Mavropanos, whose header across allowed Morato to nod in his first goal since joining from Nottingham Forest on loan this month.

Fulham regained the lead from a well-timed pass by Joachim Andersen, whose ball from deep released Palacios to poke past Finlay Herrick. Fulham's pressing was described as uncoordinated and they conceded again when Benjamin Lecomte's save from Mohamadou Kanté's flick ran to Pablo. Pablo marked his 22nd appearance for West Ham by scoring his first goal since joining for £18.3m last January to make it 2-2.

With the tie in the balance Nuno Espírito Santo introduced Jarrod Bowen and Manor Solomon early in the second half, while Arbeloa brought on Bobb, King and Gonzalo García. West Ham tired and King won possession when Kanté dithered; Bobb cut in from the right and drilled a low shot past Herrick to make it 3-2 in the 78th minute. West Ham continued to press late, with Bowen shooting over and Taty Castellanos having an effort cleared off the line by Timothy Castagne.

Elsewhere in the Carabao Cup, Peterborough reached the fourth round for the first time since 2009 by beating Barnsley 7-6 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Barnsley led after 61 seconds when Cameron McGeehan scored from a charged-down clearance; Harry Leonard equalised in the 19th minute and Danny Ormerod put Peterborough ahead on 27 minutes before Reyes Cleary levelled five minutes before half-time. Cleary looked to have won it with a second in the 74th minute but Ormerod's late header forced penalties; after 12 successful spot-kicks Alex Bass saved Luke Alker's effort and Harrison Jones converted to send Peterborough through. Brentford also advanced, beating Reading 2-1 with first-half goals from Callum Wilson and Fabio Carvalho before Paudie O'Connor pulled one back for Reading, and substitutes including Igor Thiago missed chances to settle the tie.

Fulham advance into the Carabao Cup last 16 after resisting late pressure from the Championship pacesetters. West Ham were beaten but not outplayed and will not mind switching focus back to their promotion push.