Fan blogger Joe Difford gives his take on Sunday's victory
Fan blogger Joe Difford gives his take on Sunday's win at Blackburn Rovers...
Slaven Bilic’s side went into Sunday’s game full of confidence, knowing that they were capable of beating Blackburn Rovers and progressing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. However, the 7,000 odd travelling fans couldn’t have been prepared for the attacking master class that followed.
The game didn’t exactly start as planned, with the Rovers firing in a low shot from distance that was just too far in the corner for Darren Randolph to reach. But the boys in claret and blue reacted accordingly, Victor Moses powering through the midfield, before seeing an opportunity to have a go himself, and his shot from outside the area crept under Jason Steele’s arms.
As Mark Noble and Co. tried desperately to turn things around before half time, a free kick was won about 30 yards away from goal, and up stepped Dimitri Payet, who curled the ball over the wall and into the far left corner. Payet’s magical performance was only just beginning, but he proved again that he is arguably the league’s best set piece taker.
Blackburn were reduced to ten men shortly after the restart, with Chris Taylor bringing down Moses as he looked to counter, although you can sympathise with the opposition man, as his first booking was soft.
West Ham capitalised though, and began what was to be the most dominant half of football fans have seen all season.
Emmanuel Emenike opened his goalscoring account for the Hammers, after being mere inches away from scoring the winner against Norwich last week. Following some great work from Michail Antonio, who was superb at right back, the ball fell to Cheikhou Kouyate, who squared it to the Nigerian to tap in.
The assister didn’t spend much longer on the field however, as he saw red for bringing a man down when he was in on goal, but the heavy touch meant that it was hardly a goalscoring opportunity, so Kouyate was hard done by.
It didn’t matter though, because a phenomenal Payet pass lofted over the entire Blackburn back line landed at the feet of Emenike, who dazzled the keeper with a stepover, before knocking it past him and smashing home, similar to how Brazil’s Ronaldo did back in the day.
The incredible travelling supporters couldn’t help but dream of Wembley when Payet netted the fifth, an amazing solo effort. The ball was played to him on the half way line, and a delicate flick knocked it round his man, allowing him to run the rest of the pitch, gliding past deflated Rovers, before coolly slotting home.
It was an excellent team performance, with Mark Noble again leading by example and presenting a strong case for England inclusion, but Dimitri Payet was the hero, scoring two, assisting one and creating six more chances.
The next round will see our boys face either Shrewsbury or Manchester United, and a trip to Old Trafford may see the Hammers pick up another scalp on the road, as we did against City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
It has been 36 years since our club lifted a trophy, but you can’t help but be optimistic watching the best side seen in the last decade led by a passionate manager. And who knows, maybe this is our year and just maybe there will be claret and blue ribbons on the cup come May, we certainly have the quality and support.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United
Slaven Bilic’s side went into Sunday’s game full of confidence, knowing that they were capable of beating Blackburn Rovers and progressing to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. However, the 7,000 odd travelling fans couldn’t have been prepared for the attacking master class that followed.
The game didn’t exactly start as planned, with the Rovers firing in a low shot from distance that was just too far in the corner for Darren Randolph to reach. But the boys in claret and blue reacted accordingly, Victor Moses powering through the midfield, before seeing an opportunity to have a go himself, and his shot from outside the area crept under Jason Steele’s arms.
As Mark Noble and Co. tried desperately to turn things around before half time, a free kick was won about 30 yards away from goal, and up stepped Dimitri Payet, who curled the ball over the wall and into the far left corner. Payet’s magical performance was only just beginning, but he proved again that he is arguably the league’s best set piece taker.
Blackburn were reduced to ten men shortly after the restart, with Chris Taylor bringing down Moses as he looked to counter, although you can sympathise with the opposition man, as his first booking was soft.
West Ham capitalised though, and began what was to be the most dominant half of football fans have seen all season.
Emmanuel Emenike opened his goalscoring account for the Hammers, after being mere inches away from scoring the winner against Norwich last week. Following some great work from Michail Antonio, who was superb at right back, the ball fell to Cheikhou Kouyate, who squared it to the Nigerian to tap in.
The assister didn’t spend much longer on the field however, as he saw red for bringing a man down when he was in on goal, but the heavy touch meant that it was hardly a goalscoring opportunity, so Kouyate was hard done by.
It didn’t matter though, because a phenomenal Payet pass lofted over the entire Blackburn back line landed at the feet of Emenike, who dazzled the keeper with a stepover, before knocking it past him and smashing home, similar to how Brazil’s Ronaldo did back in the day.
The incredible travelling supporters couldn’t help but dream of Wembley when Payet netted the fifth, an amazing solo effort. The ball was played to him on the half way line, and a delicate flick knocked it round his man, allowing him to run the rest of the pitch, gliding past deflated Rovers, before coolly slotting home.
It was an excellent team performance, with Mark Noble again leading by example and presenting a strong case for England inclusion, but Dimitri Payet was the hero, scoring two, assisting one and creating six more chances.
The next round will see our boys face either Shrewsbury or Manchester United, and a trip to Old Trafford may see the Hammers pick up another scalp on the road, as we did against City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
It has been 36 years since our club lifted a trophy, but you can’t help but be optimistic watching the best side seen in the last decade led by a passionate manager. And who knows, maybe this is our year and just maybe there will be claret and blue ribbons on the cup come May, we certainly have the quality and support.
For more West Ham fan views or to join the conversation visit www.90min.com
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United