WHZ View: 8 for Dawson as Yarmolenko disappoints – West Ham player ratings vs Man United
West Ham are out of the FA Cup after an extra-time 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday.
It was a hard-fought encounter with little quality on show, with only a few Hammers coming out with any credit.
David Moyes deserves praise for his set-up as we coped remarkably well despite Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard not featuring.
Injuries to Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop made things even worse, so Scott McTominay’s winner was not too surprising.
We lacked an attacking threat and a player to change the game in our favour, but we can be proud of the players’ efforts.
Here are West Ham Zone’s player ratings…
Lukasz Fabianski – 7
As brilliant as ever and vital to keeping the scores at 0-0 for so long. One cracking stop to deny Marcus Rashford in the second half was the standout, but he also pulled off a superb save to tip Victor Lindelof’s header onto the post before that.
Vladimir Coufal – 6
Solid if unspectacular. Rashford found space at times and should have scored but Coufal looked assured other than that. Could have been more adventurous in attack but we will not complain too much.
Craig Dawson – 8
Had a big role to play due to injuries to the defence and he did not put a foot wrong. Helped out Johnson at the back too and was central to our organisation. Could and perhaps should have scored in the 90th minute but what a coup he has been.
Ben Johnson – 7
Played for longer than Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop despite coming on at half-time. He looked remarkably composed for his age despite the tough challenge of having to deal with Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood. We will not complain if he is given a run of games in over the next few weeks due to injuries.
Aaron Cresswell – 6
Solid at the back and was relatively untroubled. Deserves a special mention for once again proving he is a solid centre-back too after moving to that position after half-time.
Mark Noble – 7
A tidy display from the skipper who made two tackles and two interceptions (SofaScore). Was effective in getting us up the pitch too with eight successful long balls. Continued to lead by example in extra-time and did not show much sign of fatigue, remarkably.
Declan Rice – 8
He was simply everywhere and was key to reducing the influence of Donny Van de Beek and Fred with five tackles. Was equally as good on the ball with 58 touches and 87% pass accuracy and showed energy throughout. Tried in vain to put us on the front foot at times, needed an Antonio or Lingard to work with.
Thomas Soucek – 6
Showed no signs of last weekend’s red card affecting him as he was aggressive as ever. Looked to put Man United under pressure but did not quite come off for him – needed more service. Was unfortunately at fault for the goal as his header failed to clear the ball before McTominay scored.
Jarrod Bowen – 5
Did not come off for him once again but a lack of attacking ambition was the main reason for that. Huffed and puffed and tried to put the opposition under pressure before being hauled off at half-time.
Pablo Fornals – 4
Very ineffectual and wasted a good opportunity for a counter-attack in the second half. If he does not improve soon it is likely Jesse Lingard will keep him out of the side.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 4
Was always going to be difficult playing out of position but he did nothing to help our cause with just 18 touches in his 54 minutes on the pitch. Needed to do a better job of holding up play and his inability to do that meant we suffered.
In other West Ham news, Garth Crooks names West Ham ace Lingard in team of the week.