Embarrassed? They should be.
West Ham’s fans started the night here poking fun at London rivals Spurs for crashing out 24 hours earlier.
This was worse. This was horrific. Oxford – 12th in League One – fully deserved this. West Ham didn’t. Oxford created chance after chance. West Ham didn’t.
Manuel Pellegrini could bring around £70million worth of talent off the bench in the second half. Karl Robinson couldn’t.
This surely has to rank among West Ham’s worst-ever Cup defeats – and there have been a few. Oxford are 51 places below them for goodness’ sake.
At least Spurs took Colchester to penalties on Tuesday night. West Ham were left, quite literally, trailing in the dust of substitute Tarique Fosu who came off the bench – fresh from his hat-trick against Lincoln last Saturday – to beat the offside trap, race clear and ram home the third goal.
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Pellegrini’s men were guilty of believing they only had to turn up to win. They paid the price – plus tax and tip – for dining out on the club’s impressive success over Manchester United last Sunday.
Karl Robinson had been there and done that, masterminding that famous 4-0 win over the Reds in this competition as MK Dons boss five years ago.
Here, his Oxford team – fresh from demolishing Lincoln 6-0 away from home last weekend – wiped the floor with West Ham.
Elliott Moore was outstanding at the back alongside Rob Dickie, turning home the first from close range ten minutes after the break.
The excellent Shandon Baptiste worked tirelessly in midfield to earn his Man of the Match award. Arthur Masuaku couldn’t cope with substitute Mark Sykes whose delivery from out wide set up another substitute, Matty Taylor, for the 71st minute second.
Baptiste crowned a magnificent night here in Oxfordshire by ramming home the fourth in injury time.
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West Ham would have been buried under even more goals had striker Cameron Brannagan not panicked when TWICE clean through during the first half. Rob Hall hit the bar from a stunning free kick after 25 minutes. Oxford really could have scored another six – against a team fifth in the Premier League – in the space of five days.
Pellegrini certainly can’t point to the fact that he’d rested nine players for this match. Oxford made six.
Record signing Sebastian Haller came on to join Swiss frontman Albian Ajeti for most of the second half.
Jack Wilshere was among the Londoners’ best players yet was inexplicably replaced by Felipe Anderson. Oxford keeper Simon Eastwood saved brilliantly from Pablo Fornals near the end.
Defeat here is a crushing blow for the club with big ambitions following their record outlay during the summer. West Ham’s squad is big enough and good enough to cope with a Carabao Cup run.
Instead it is Oxford fans looking forward to hosting Sunderland here at the Kassam. Their fans in the South Stand were taking pictures of the scoreboard as their team ran riot. This night will live long in their memories.
