West Ham avoided FA Cup humiliation this afternoon, nodding home the decisive goal in extra time to see off Championship opponents QPR 2-1.
Taty Castellanos, who arrived at the London Stadium for £26million from Lazio just last week, found the net for the first time in claret and blue during the ninth minute of the additional period.
Crysencio Summerville produced a moment of quality, evading defender Jimmy Dunne before delivering a pinpoint cross that Castellanos met with a powerful header past goalkeeper Joe Walsh.
The victory provides welcome relief for the beleaguered Hammers, who remain mired in Premier League relegation trouble.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have endured a wretched campaign.
They have failed to secure a single victory in their last ten Premier League outings.
Recent losses to fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest have left the east London club languishing seven points adrift of safety.
Such dismal form meant the Hammers appeared ripe for an upset against any half-decent second-tier opposition.
West Ham avoided FA Cup humiliation this afternoon
|PA
The spectre of Championship football next season looms large, with a league meeting between these two London rivals becoming an increasingly realistic prospect.
This afternoon's encounter offered an uncomfortable glimpse of what life in the second division might entail for West Ham supporters.
The opening goal arrived deep into first-half stoppage time following a concerning incident that saw Konstantinos Mavropanos stretchered off with a head injury.
West Ham later confirmed the Greek defender remained conscious.
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Taty Castellanos found the net for the first time in claret and blue
|PA
Pablo Felipe, the Brazilian striker introduced as Mavropanos's replacement, played a key role by working the ball inside to Soungoutou Magassa, who found Summerville to fire home his first goal of the season.
QPR drew level on 65 minutes when Rayan Kolli teed up Karamoko Dembele.
Dembele turned past Summerville and floated in a cross for Richard Kone to head beyond Mads Hermansen into the far corner.
Supporters from both clubs applauded as Mavropanos was taken off the pitch | GETTYCastellanos came agonisingly close to settling matters in normal time, only to be thwarted twice by goal-line clearances from QPR captain Dunne, while Walsh tipped his 20-yard strike over the bar.
Kone also scrambled a Tomas Soucek header off the line to keep Rangers in the contest.
The extra period saw Walsh continue his heroics, denying both Soucek and Summerville before Castellanos finally broke through.
For QPR, the defeat extends their unwanted record in the competition.
They have now suffered elimination at the third-round stage on 53 occasions, more than any other club in FA Cup history.
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