LONDON: West Ham survived a League Cup scare at the hands of London neighbours Millwall on Tuesday in a second round clash that was overshadowed by serious crowd trouble before and during the match.

Playing a quality of football that

belied their current status in the third tier of English football, Millwall got within three minutes of knocking their Premier League hosts out of the competition after being given a first-half lead by Neil Harris. But an 87th-minute equaliser from Junior Stanislas sent the tie into extra-time and a second goal from Stanislas, from the penalty spot, and a Zavon Hines strike wrapped things up for the Hammers.

An admirable display by Millwall and a gutsy fightback by their hosts was however marred by the ugly scenes surrounding the match, with one fan scarred in pre-match clashes and the game itself marred by a series of pitch invasions and crowd scuffles.