LONDON: English Premier League sides Fulham, Blackburn, West Ham and Sunderland struggled to advance past lower-division opposition in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Fulham was the only club not to fall behind, although the Cottagers came within seven minutes of being eliminated by Leicester before winning 3-2.
Blackburn rallied to oust Grimsby 4-1; West Ham took an extra 30 minutes to overcome Macclesfield by the same scoreline, while Sunderland beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in extra time.
Alan Curbishley was jeered as his West Ham side fell behind to Gareth Evans’ fifth-minute opener for Macclesfield, which has lost its opening three League Two games without even scoring.
Lee Bowyer took until the 74th to equalize to force the game into extra time. Carlton Cole found a breakthrough after 10 minutes before debutant Zavon Hines added a third and Kyel Reid sealed the 4-1 victory.
“The disappointing thing is the players are the ones that have to go out and perform,” Curbishley said. “The fans are brilliant when they are behind us and they have to realize the effect it has when they are not behind us. It can all change at the weekend.
“Football is a bit like this, you go through periods like this. It has happened to other managers and happened a bit last year.”
Danny Murphy netted an injury-time winner to send Fulham into the third round past Leicester.
Zoltan Gera put Fulham ahead in the 31st, Paul Dickov leveled after the break and Andy King took just two minutes to put the League One side ahead.
Jimmy Bullard produced an equalizer from 25 meters with seven minutes remaining and Murphy prevented the game from going into extra time with a similar strike.
Rovers rallied to avoid being eliminated by a team three divisions below them.
Grimsby grabbed a shock lead at Ewood Park when defender Tom Newey curled in a seventh-minute free kick, which Carlos Villanueva had conceded on his Blackburn debut. The Chilean striker made amends inside 10 minutes with the equalizer, and Matt Derbyshire and Brett Emerton gave Rovers a 3-1 cushion by the break. Derbyshire added a second to complete the victory.
Northern Ireland striker David Healy secured Sunderland’s passage in the third minute of extra time against manager Roy Keane’s former club Nottingham Forest.
Rob Earnshaw put Forest ahead with a free kick on the hour mark, but Phil Bardsley forced the game into extra time.
In Wednesday other match, Sheffield United won 2-1 at Huddersfield 1.
Premier League sides Bolton, West Brom and Hull were eliminated on Tuesday by lower-division opposition.
