West Ham struggled to break down a tightly packed defence in last week’s Europa League opener against TSC Backa Topola, and this Carabao Cup win at Lincoln City was every bit as uncomfortable and uneasy on the eye.
The Hammers had 1,836 fans jammed into the Stacey West Stand at Sincil Bank but, try as they might, their relentless support was unable to inspire an accomplished performance from the visitors.
David Moyes’s side reached the fourth round eventually, scraping past the side currently sat 13th in League One, thanks to a Tomas Soucek finish from a Said Benrahama corner in the 70th minute. Yet few of the men in blue will have drawn confidence from their individual displays here. It was a dog fight. Lincoln, for much of the contest, were the better side.
The last time West Ham were here, they drew 1-1 in a 1982 tie in the same competition, and needed a home replay to knock the Imps out. For so long we appeared destined for a similar story, albeit this tie would have been decided on penalties on the night.
In the end Soucek’s late winner ensured West Ham got the job done, though it was Lincoln who had the ball in the net first. Alex Mitchell was left with his head in his hands when the assistant referee quite rightly flagged his opening goal as offside.
Lukasz Fabianski made decent stops throughout the affair, most notably when Ali Smith’s floated cross looked to be headed home by Reeco Hackett-Fairchild for the first goal only for Fabianski to make an elastic one-handed stop.
As the second half wore on, Lincoln’s threat abated somewhat, allowing spaces for West Ham to exploit. But they could not capitalise from open play. Even with James Ward-Prowse rested for this fixture, they remained a staunchly set-piece specialist side. Soucek swept home from Benrahma’s corner. West Ham made it through — just.
