Never will a team with 11 changes be so welcomed by Rovers supporters – but they will equally have been buoyed by the performance firstly, but then the result, as they booked a spot in round four of the Carabao Cup.

Even when Rovers finally drew a game for the first time since April, there still had to be a winner.

And it was to be the visitors, with all 10 outfield players left on the pitch finding the net from 12 yards, before Angelo Ogbonna hit the crossbar with West Ham’s 10th penalty.

The shine had been taken off the tie somewhat by the timing, coming four days before a trip to Turf Moor.

That meant Rovers team was as much about who didn’t feature than who did, with an eye on Sunday’s East Lancashire derby at Burnley.

But what followed in the 90 minutes was a rip-roaring cup tie, with Rovers giving as good as they had.

At the final whistle they took the acclaim of the travelling support for a gutsy display, one which ended with victory on penalties and a spot in round four.

Jon Dahl Tomasson made 11 changes, with Bradley Dack captaining a side which included a first start for Clinton Mola and also a 100th Rovers appearance for Tyrhys Dolan.

Callum Brittain, Daniel Ayala, Scott Wharton, Harry Pickering, Lewis Travis, Ryan Hedges and Sam Gallagher, all who are expected to feature at Turf Moor, were left at home.

It presented a great platform to those who had been waiting on opportunities to get their chance against a Premier League side, albeit one which also showed 11 changes.

Dilan Markanday had scored in the previous two rounds and couldn’t have wished for a better chance to make it three in three in just the third minute. Angelo Ogbonna’s backpass was always going to be short of his goalkeeper, with Markanday able to intercept, but not realising the time he had, he hit the legs of the goalkeeper with his first-time finish.

Rovers’ bright start was to be rewarded though, taking the lead in the sixth minute. Tayo Edun split the Hammers backline wide open with an incisive through-ball, with Jack Vale doing the rest as he slotted a left foot shot through the legs of Alphonse Areola.

The London Stadium was shocked, the Rovers fans revelling in the moment as their young side took the early advantage.

West Ham, understandably, grew into the game, looking to use the pace and power of Michail Antonio.

His first break down the left channel saw Hayden Carter booked for a foul, his second setting up a chance for Pablo Fornals who shot straight at Aynsley Pears who saved.

The hosts were dominating the territory, but while their corner count was rising, Rovers were standing firm, with Mola making a positive impression on his first start.

Emerson volleyed over when Rovers could only half clear one delivery, but otherwise Pears was well protected by those infront of him.

Their resistance lasted until six minutes before the break. Mola’s appeals for a foul went unheard, as Antonio broke down the right, and while John Buckley looked to have got back to intercept his clearance, the ball ran kindly for Fornals whose shot on the turn nestled in the corner.

Yet Rovers should have had the lead heading into half time, with Markanday again the guilty party as he failed to take advantage a glorious chance. Conor Coventry’s mishit clearance went straight to the winger 12 yards out, and while he rounded the ‘keeper, he never truly had the ball under control, as he hit the covering defender with his shot from inside the six-yard box.

It was therefore a first half of missed opportunities for Rovers who, despite seeing less of the ball, had the best three chances.

Jake Garrett replaced Adam Wharton at the break and Rovers began the second half with good periods of possession without testing Areola.

West Ham always looked to have the advantage when it came to height from set plays, and they somehow didn’t lead 10 minutes after the re-start. Fornals’ delivery made it all the way through to the far post where Antonio looked certain to turn home, only to hit the post with his effort.

With half an hour remaining, Tomasson sent on West Ham fan Sam Szmodics, and West Ham target Ben Brereton, in a double switch, fully believing the game was there to win.

Brereton made a near instant impact, cutting from the left to thump a shot narrowly wide of the post, with Arreola scrambling across his goal.

The hosts too made an attacking change, sending on Said Benrahma, but it was Antonio who remained the main threat, getting away from Carter down the left, with Pears equal to his shot, with Edun doing well on the cover to clear as the game ticked into the final quarter still evenly poised.

Antonio would have started to wonder how he hadn’t scored, as another chance came and went in the 75th minute. Carter could only half intercept Benrahma’s through ball as the striker ran through on goal, and while brave goalkeeping from Pears denied him what looked to be a second for West Ham, it should have arrived when it landed at the boot of Benrahma, only for him to shoot over from six yards.

While West Ham had started with a much-changed team, there was a more familiar look to the frontline for the closing stages. And that looked to be enough as West Ham took the lead with 12 minutes remaining.

Rovers failed to clear the lines as the ball dropped kindly for Antonio who got the goal he had threatened all night with his shot across Pears and into the corner.

Yet there was still time for Rovers, and for their substitutes to combine, to force an equaliser. Szmodics teed up Brereton on the left edge of the box, and there was no doubting what would happen next, as he cut inside to rifle a shot into the top corner.

Carter made an excellent block in the final minute of the three additional as the game went to penalties.

Rovers held their nerve from 12 yards, scoring all 10 penalties, and when Ogbonna failed with his, Rovers celebrated a first win over Premier League opposition since 2015.

West Ham: Areola, Johnson, Coufal (Bowen, 77), Fornals (Scamacca, 77), Antonio, Lanzini, Downes, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Coventry (Benrahma, 65), Emerson (Cresswell, 90)

Subs: Randolph, Hegyi, Zouma,Dawson, Soucek

Rovers: Aynsley Pears, Joe Rankin-Costello, Hayden Carter, Clinton Mola (Dom Hyam, 78), Tayo Edun, John Buckley, Adam Wharton (Jake Garrett, 46), Bradley Dack (Sam Szmodics, 60), Dilan Markanday (Ben Brereton, 60), Tyrhys Dolan, Jack Vale (George Hirst, 85)

Subs: Kaminski, Morton, Batty, Phillips