‘Really hard to take’ – Moyes proud of West Ham players despite cup loss
West Ham were knocked out of the FA Cup last night at the hands of Manchester United after a cagey encounter at Old Trafford.
The injury-hit Hammers were able to take United to extra time, before Scott McTominay’s 97th-minute strike sent the hosts through to the quarter-finals.
Manager David Moyes was proud of his players despite the defeat. The Scot was forced into several changes due to injuries in both halves of the 90.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “That was really hard to take because the players played brilliantly well.
“We lost a few players during the game and that was difficult. I don’t think we deserved to lose the game. We warranted the chance to go to penalty kicks.
“One of our centre-backs was on the bench and felt his calf in the warm-up. Before we knew if we had a few players out. We didn’t play well in the first half – we know that. But we were playing a really good team in terrific form.
“In extra-time, we had one or two opportunities. I’m not going to look back on the goal conceded – I’ll look at how well we played. The level these teams are at, United are a really good team.
A frustrating evening
It seems as though United were there for the taking. It was a challenging night for Moyes and his squad, who, it has to be said, were really unfortunate with injuries.
The main concern for the boss will now be the fitness of Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop and Andriy Yarmolenko for next Monday. Our Italian centre half made a fantastic early block from Martial, only to have one left on him and roll his ankle. It looked a very sore one indeed.
Diop came on to replace him and had to be changed at half time with a concussion. It was the first time in English football that the concussion substitute had been used (of course it happened to be us!).
It was disappointing for him. Diop’s had few opportunities this season, and had his chance taken away from him. Hopefully he also makes a speedy recovery.
Yarmolenko exited play in the second half with what appeared to be a knee injury. He was largely ineffective up-top in the absence of Antonio, whose shoes are proving massive to fill.
There were one or two positives to take. Ben Johnson, who played the second half and all of extra time, had a fantastic game. He played left-wing back as we switched to a 5-3-2 with the injuries.
Craig Dawson was arguably the best player on the pitch. The Englishman marshalled our backline in the absence of Ogbonna. He really should have scored late into the 90, given his form as of late.
A frustrating evening to say the least. We go again next Monday at home to Sheffield United in the Premier League. Come on you Irons!
In other West Ham news, here are the player ratings for last evening’s tie with Manchester United.