Hammers players are beginning to find their feet in the London Stadium but there were more unsavoury scenes in the stands as they beat Chelsea 2-1
It always was wishful thinking that the occasion would pass off without any ugly incidents in the stands. They came so close. But just when it seemed that West Ham United were easing towards a largely peaceful 2-0 victory over Chelsea in the League Cup, fighting broke out between home and away fans behind Darren Randolph’s goal, transforming a magnificent night on the pitch for Slaven Bilic’s resurgent side into a PR disaster.
Stewards and police were forced to intervene, coins and bottles flew through the East End air and seats were thrown as rival supporters clashed on the concourse at the back of the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand for a couple of minutes. As the nonsense unravelled, Gary Cahill pulled one back for Chelsea at the death, but West Ham still went through to the last eight. Once again, however, there were serious questions to be asked of the level of security inside their new ground, which cracked under the strain of hosting a big match.
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