Álvaro Arbeloa played in some great defences but whether he knows how to coach one remains to be seen. ­Fulham have been fragile since appointing the Spaniard and they were fortunate not to be dragged into a penalty shootout by West Ham as this entertainingCarabao Cup tie drew to a close.

West Ham equalised twice during the first half and they almost did it again after Oscar Bobb made it 3-2 in the 78th minute. Nuno Espírito Santo raged at a poor miss from Taty ­Castellanos, though, and Fulham clambered into the last 16 after resisting late pressure from the ­Championship pacesetters.

It was a mixed bag as far as ­Fulham were concerned. West Ham were beaten but not outplayed and will not mind switching focus back to their promotion push. They stretched Fulham. Arbeloa played an experimental lineup and the performance was not convincing. César Palacios finished with a goal and an assist but Kevin and Emile Smith Rowe disappointed and the Premier League side needed Bobb and Josh King to make the difference after coming off the bench.

"I was a bit upset at half-time," Arbeloa said. "I am asking how we can concede these two goals. So easy for me. We need to improve there. We need to be more aggressive when defending. In the end we need a massive save. If we are not aggressive enough it is my job to improve my players. We have to work a lot."

Before kick-off there was a moving tribute to Ludek Miklosko, the legendary former West Ham goalkeeper, after he passed away this week at the age of 64. It added emotion to the tie, ensuring the hosts were not short of motivation against the hardest side they have faced since last season's relegation.

Although West Ham rested key players in attack before visiting ­Millwall on Saturday they responded well after going behind in the 13th minute. They tested Fulham in the air and levelled when Arne Engels' deep cross found Konstantinos Mavropanos, who rose at the far post and headed across for his fellow defender Morato to nod in his first goal since joining from Nottingham Forest on loan this month.

It was frustrating for the visitors not to maintain control after Palacios darted down the left before picking out Rodrigo Muniz, who headed in the opener after creeping between Mavropanos and Maximilian Kilman.

Fulham's grip remained tentative. Arbeloa had gambled by making nine changes, a risky move after calming the noise around his position with Saturday's draw at Liverpool. The lead was regained in style, Joachim Andersen's pass from deep allowing Palacios to wander through a big gap and poke past Finlay Herrick, but Fulham were not resilient enough. Their pressing was uncoordinated and it was 2-2 when Benjamin Lecomte's save from Mohamadou Kanté's flick ran to Pablo, who marked his 22nd appearance for West Ham by scoring his first goal since joining for £18.3m last January.

With the game in the balance Nuno made a bold move by introducing Jarrod Bowen and Manor Solomon early in the second half. Fulham drifted. Antonee Robinson drew a save from Herrick but Solomon and Mavropanos went close for West Ham.

Arbeloa threw on Bobb, King and Gonzalo García. West Ham tired and King was alert when Kanté dithered in a dangerous position. The Fulham youngster pressed to win possession, leaving Bobb to cut in from the right and drill a low shot past Herrick.

West Ham kept going. Bowen shot over and Castellanos, on for Pablo, had an effort cleared off the line by Timothy Castagne. Fulham lived on the edge.