West Ham United came from behind to defeat Portsmouth 3-1 in the first round of the Carabao Cup, with Valentin 'Taty' Castellanos netting twice to spark a second-half revival in front of the largest crowd ever recorded for a fixture at this stage of the competition. Club owner David Sullivan was among those in attendance to witness the turnaround.
The visitors from Portsmouth made the stronger start and took a surprise lead just past the half-hour mark. In the 33rd minute, Adrian Segecic pounced on a loose clearance from Max Kilman, controlling the ball before unleashing a left-footed strike that cannoned off the West Ham defender and looped into the bottom corner, leaving the home goalkeeper with no chance.
West Ham, who had struggled to find rhythm in the opening stages, began to show signs of life as half-time approached. Their response arrived shortly before the break when Mohamadou Kante slipped a simple cut-back into the path of Castellanos, who calmly finished into the far corner to restore parity just before the interval.
The turnaround continued swiftly after the equaliser, as West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen put his side ahead only two minutes later. Bowen capitalised on a misplaced pass from Pablo, advancing before curling a deflected effort from distance that wrong-footed Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid and nestled into the net.
Castellanos then sealed the victory with his second goal of the match, completing the comeback and sending West Ham through to the next round of the competition with a 3-1 scoreline. The Argentine striker's brace proved decisive in what had been a tense contest before the interval.
Elsewhere in Saturday's first-round action, there were several notable results across the English game. Millwall progressed at the expense of London rivals QPR following a penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Lukas Jensen making a remarkable return from a long-term injury by saving all four QPR spot-kicks as his side triumphed 2-0 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road.
In League One action, Championship side Charlton eased past fourth-tier Cheltenham with a 3-1 victory at Whaddon Road. Meanwhile, AFC Wimbledon required a dramatic late equaliser and a subsequent penalty shootout to overcome Newport, eventually winning 5-4 on penalties after Newport had forced extra time with a goal deep into injury time, in the 97th minute, to level the tie at 1-1.
Newly-promoted Bromley suffered a shootout defeat at home, going down 5-4 on penalties to fellow League One outfit Reading following a 1-1 draw in normal time. Non-league side Barnet were also eliminated, losing 2-1 away to Cambridge.
In Hertfordshire, Watford began life under new manager Alessio Dionisi with a narrow win over League Two opposition Crawley, as Marc Bola scored deep into stoppage time, in the 99th minute, to seal victory for the hosts.
Finally, at Turf Moor, Burnley avoided an upset against lower-league opponents Notts County, needing a penalty shootout to progress. Former England international Kyle Walker stepped up to convert the decisive spot-kick, sending Burnley through to the next round of the competition.
Based on reporting from standard-football.