West Ham beat Portsmouth 3-1 at London Stadium in Carabao Cup as David Sullivan attends despite advice to stay away
West Ham defeated Portsmouth 3-1 at the London Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup on August 8, 2026, while major shareholder David Sullivan attended the match despite advice to stay away. The victory sent West Ham into the second round of the competition.
Sullivan arrived wearing a black bomber jacket and was flanked by heavy-duty company as he took his seat with his arms crossed, against the advice of the stadium’s operators and despite “serious allegations” mentioned in reports; he is described in the club’s context as the former co-chair whose name is no longer above the door. Before kick-off the London Stadium big screen displayed a “countdown to walkout,” a reference to the players’ arrival rather than an organised fan exodus. The win secured West Ham passage to the Carabao Cup second round, where the club will be reunited with their former Premier League peers.
Outside the ground the gate to the directors’ car park and the surrounding lanes were quiet and there was no welcoming committee; protests aimed at Sullivan and his former associate Karren Brady have been a regular feature this summer. On the terraces there were few audible signs of mass dissent compared with last season, although the loudest boos of the first half came during a hydration break that was accompanied by 1990s rave music. The report notes the lingering effect of the North American World Cup on the match-day atmosphere.
On the playing side, West Ham’s summer transfer window activity was summarised as net player departures valued at £151m, which included Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville and Freddie Potts; Joël Veltman was described as the sole summer signing and was named on the bench. Veltman was introduced with three minutes remaining. In midfield Edson Álvarez, returning from a loan at Fenerbahce, started alongside 20-year-old Lewis Orford, who the club hopes can follow the path of Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Mark Noble into the first team, with Noble acting as a mentor.
Portsmouth took the lead through Adrian Segecic when his effort deflected off Maximilian Kilman, described in the report as an expensive purchase. West Ham responded after 10 minutes when Mohamadou Kanté’s pirouetting feint created space for Taty Castellanos to equalise. Moments later Jarrod Bowen, the club captain, struck to put West Ham ahead, and early in the second half Castellanos nodded in Bowen’s cross to make it 3-1.
The match was framed in part by supporter reaction: Sullivan kept any visible celebrations to himself and returned to his seat for the second half, and beyond the hour a chorus of “stand up if you hate the board” was directed at him. The report notes that Sullivan has repeatedly ignored protest and continued to do so during this appearance.
With the Carabao Cup win complete, West Ham move into the competition’s second round and will begin their Championship campaign next Sunday at Burnley; whether Sullivan will travel to that fixture remains to be seen and the report states it cannot be ruled out.
