Jack Wilshere was the first West Ham player to show any desire to win the ball high up the pitch against Newport County and it paid off as he bagged the opening goal of the game.
Wilshere put pressure on Exiles defender Kyle Howkins and the centre back got his feet in a tangle and lost the ball, allowing Wilshere to nip in and slot past Nick Townsend to give the Hammers the lead.
It was his first competitive goal in claret and blue having had an injury-wrecked time since joining the club from Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 2018.
Wilshere's goal in fact ended a personal drought of more than ten years for the midfielder since he last scored in League Cup.
He last scored on his very first appearance in the competition for the Gunners against Sheffield United as a 16-year-old, a whole decade and 338 day ago.
Wilshere's goal settled any nerves the Hammers might have had approaching the end of the first half when Newport were more than a match for the Premier League counterparts.
The visitors improved in the second half however and began to show their class, a fine team goal making it 2-0 when Pablo Fornals converted from close range to double the advantage midway through the second half.
One sore point from the evening however was the injury to Michail Antonio, who was forced off the field just seven minutes into the game with a suspected hamstring tear.
