West Ham United 1 Manchester United 2
It was a moment to electrify any game, let alone a must-win FA Cup quarter-final replay and if it provided the latest evidence of Marcus Rashford’s rare ability, it crackled with meaning for Louis van Gaal.
Manchester United had taken a kicking on so many levels after their 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and Van Gaal, as ever, had borne the brunt of it. It was impossible to ignore the sub-plot here that the manager needed a result more than ever. He got one and, even better, it came on the back of an entertaining performance.
It was fired by Rashford's goal, and what a goal it was. Accepting the ball from Anthony Martial towards the left-hand edge of West Ham's penalty box, the 18-year-old dropped his shoulder to buy himself a yard of space before opening up his body and fizzing an unstoppable right-footed curler into the far, top corner.
It was Rashford’s sixth goal in 11 appearances for United and his overall performance – heavy on pace, fearlessness and direct running – was the sort to cheer up the club’s supporters after a pretty gloomy season.
What a cup tie this turned out to be. Apart from the opening 15 minutes, the visitors had been in control and they looked home and hosed when Marouane Fellaini smuggled home their second goal on 67 minutes.
But West Ham roused themselves for the grandstand finish in what was Upton Park's last ever cup tie. Belatedly, they seemed to realise that they had Andy Carroll on the pitch and it might be a good idea to load the ball into the box for the tall striker.
After David De Gea had saved from Michail Antonio, Carroll headed back Dimitri Payet's corner for James Tomkins to score and this famous old ground shook. The Manchester side's comfort and defensive confidence was shattered.
Carroll leapt and headed over from Aaron Cresswell’s cross while, in the 89th minute, De Gea made a double save to keep out Cheikhou Kouyaté and Carroll. On the second rebound, Kouyaté put the ball into the net only to be pulled back for offside. It will be Manchester United that face Everton in the semi-final.
Van Gaal has seemingly been drinking in the last-chance saloon for so long that it is a wonder he can muster anything coherent. The charge, of course, has been that he cannot, and he had been tracked to east London by familiar concerns which related to his team’s lack of personality.
West Ham had been waiting to make a statement in front of their crowd; they had been waiting for what felt like an age. The original quarter-final tie had finished level at Old Trafford back on March 13th. The atmosphere was good, as it has been for much of the season. The locals were determined to give this old stadium a noisy send-off.
The home team began with tempo and aggression. Inevitably, Payet oozed confidence and it was reflected in his touch and tricks. Manuel Lanzini was also dangerous in the final third, and he nearly unpicked United in the early running with zipping low through-balls. One such pass liberated Enner Valencia, who was denied by David de Gea and another was snuffed out by Michael Carrick.
United responded and they had much the better of the first-half. After the emptiness of their loss at Tottenham, they had craved a few moments in the final third and they got them. For Van Gaal, it was heartening.
Anthony Martial was lively, as always, while Marcus Rashford showed flickers of his raw talent. On a number of occasions, his quick feet and acceleration saw him burst away from tacklers. Antonio will not enjoy the replay of when Rashford beat him on 22 minutes before having a shot blocked while a similar injection from the teenager set up the major chance of the first-half.
Rashford raced away before squaring for Jesse Lingard who, under pressure, shot low and was denied by Darren Randolph's out-stretched leg. It was a big save. Lingard would love to have his first touch again. Randolph had also denied Fellaini in the 18th minute, after Lingard's smart, slipped through-ball to him while Rashford fluffed a volley before the interval from Timothy Fosu-Mensah's driven cross.
The breakthrough came on 54 minutes. Antonio was guilty of a loose pass under pressure from Ander Herrera but when Martial moved it forward to Rashford, he still had plenty to do. The execution was clinical.
United were in control and the second arrived from Fosu-Mensah’s deflected cross, with Fellaini reacting to steer home with his thigh. Van Gaal celebrated in the dug-out. West Ham would give him a scare but he can now look forward to an appearance at Wembley.
(Guardian service)
