WHZ View: Three things we learned about West Ham in win v Doncaster
West Ham won for the fifth game in a row after defeating League One high flyers Doncaster Rovers 4-0 at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers put on a professional display and will now face the winners of Liverpool v Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
It certainly is good being a West ham fan at the moment. David Moyes and his squad have got the fanbase very excited in what have been difficult times for many.
Here at West Ham Zone, we have picked out three things we learned in our emphatic win in the FA Cup fourth round:
- Moyes wants to win the cup
Despite making seven changes to the starting XI, Moyes fielded a very strong side against our League One opposition.
Both Moyes and captain Declan Rice have been quoted in the week saying they want to win the FA Cup for West Ham, and the performance proved it.
A big tie awaits us in the fifth round, but the build-up to this win and team selection have shown that we want to be serious contenders for the competition.
2. We have a squad of players all hungry to start
Given the success and fortunate lack of injuries, the starting XI has more or less picked itself in the Premier League.
Yesterday’s match presented opportunities for the fringe players to step up and prove their worth, all of which did so and made a statement.
An entirely changed back-line kept our fourth clean sheet of 2021, whilst Yarmolenko and Fornals took their chances and scored.
The performance shows those not getting match time aren’t feeling sorry for themselves. Instead, they’re hot on the heels of our starting XI and hungry for more minutes. Encouraging signs.
3. The Academy of football is still alive
The Hammers ended the match yesterday with three debutants on the pitch.
Nathan Trott, Jamal Baptiste and Oladapo Afolayan were all handed their first appearances for the club in the second half.
The highlight of which was Afolayan getting on the scoresheet eight minutes after coming on. He’d also played 63 minutes for our u23’s on friday evening against Tottenham.
West Ham have a proud history of bringing exciting talent through the academy. Moyes introducing the three youngsters yesterday was a nice touch.
It’s encouraging for the rest of the academy prospects that chances will come to those working hard enough.
In other West Ham news, Alan Irvine heaps praise on the Hammers in 4-0 defeat of Doncaster.