West Ham produce heroic comeback after Scott Parker's ruthless decision on £21m star

Parker's West Ham fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Cardiff in his debut, after dropping £21m striker Pablo from the squad.

Scott Parker enjoyed a dramatic start to his West Ham tenure, masterminding a stunning second-half comeback against Cardiff City. The Hammers found themselves 3-0 down at half-time after Jack Moylan's hat-trick, but mounted an unlikely fightback with Divine Mukasa scoring on 58 minutes, Arne Engels making it 3-2, and Max Kilman grabbing a late equaliser to secure a 3-3 draw.

Parker made five changes to the side that lost 3-1 to West Brom, most notably dropping £21m striker Pablo entirely from the squad. The Portuguese forward, who has scored just once in the Championship this season, was replaced by Taty Castellanos in the starting XI. Parker's bold selection decisions appeared vindicated as West Ham avoided a third straight defeat.

The result keeps West Ham eighth in the Championship, in the final play-off place. Parker, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo after his sacking, has won promotion from the Championship three times in his managerial career with Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley.