'We weathered the storm'

Assistant manager Neil McDonald said West Ham United had shown great belief and resilience to win through to the Capital One Cup fourth round.

The Hammers squandered a 2-0 lead before finally overcoming Cardiff City 3-2 at the Boleyn Ground through Ricardo Vaz Te's 88th-minute winner.

McDonald turned weatherman in his post-match interview, claiming the tie had been like a whole year's worth of seasons rolled into one.

"It was like the weather, wasn't it?" he smiled. "We had all the weather in that game. It was really, really nice, then it got a bit cloudy and then the snow came when Cardiff equalised and then the sun came out when we finished them off, which was great. You could say we weathered the storm!"

WATCH NEIL McDONALD'S REACTION ON WEST HAM TV

On a more serious note, McDonald said the result was an important one for the Club for a number of reasons.

"We've scored goals, which is great. I thought we totally dominated the first half, went 2-0 up and it became a little bit too easy for the players and they took their foot off the pedal.

"We had a lot more chances in the first half to finish the game off altogether, but we didn't take them and they scored a fantastic goal just before half-time which put us on the back foot.

"Second half, we didn't really hit the ground running as we did in the first half and that gave Cardiff encouragement. They got back to 2-2, but we showed a lot of character and that we wanted to win the game.

"We counter-attacked and a great ball from Jack Collison to Ricardo Vaz Te allowed us to finish it off."

Coming on the back of consecutive home Barclays Premier League defeats by Stoke City and Everton, McDonald said there were plenty of reasons to be happy with the midweek success.

"The positives are that we're through to the next round and we've scored another three goals from open play, which is great. We played some decent football and we created lots and lots of chances, even in the second half.

"We had a fair number of chances, which was the most positive aspect of the night."

Another positive was the winner scored by Vaz Te, who showed his commitment to the cause following an eventful few weeks that saw him put in a transfer request before ultimately remaining at the Boleyn Ground.

Vaz Te was among a number of players who will give Sam Allardyce food for thought ahead of Saturday's league trip to Hull City.

"All we ask is that players give 100 per cent and he certainly does that. He scores goals and he scored the winner for us on Tuesday night, which was fantastic.

"Our performance was very good in the first half and a little bit dodgy in the second, but we finished it off and it gives the manager food for thought for Saturday and that's great.

"We showed a lot of character to get through to the next round, which is fantastic."

McDonald himself played in a Wembley final for Everton in 1989 and he and the players would love to return to the scene of West Ham's 2012 Championship Play-Off final victory in this competition.

"A home tie in the fourth round would be great. As you go along in a competition, it gets more and more difficult because teams start playing stronger sides.

"We'd love to go back to Wembley and there would be less pressure on us than there was in the Play-Offs if we did so.

"The lads were determined to get through to the next round and that's exactly what they did."