West Ham bowed out of the FA Cup at the hands of lower division opposition for the third season in succession as West Bromwich Albion claimed a 1-0 win at the London Stadium. The Baggies, currently managed by former Hammers gaffer Slaven Bilic, fielded a virtual reserve side and played the last 20 minutes with ten men following Semi Ajayi’s dismissal, but ran out deserved winners.
WHUFC boss David Moyes was so disappointed with his players that he made all three of his changes at half time, and added that he would’ve probably made “five or six” substitutions if the rulebook had permitted him. He also mentioned that it was a “lack of quality” rather than a lack of effort, indicating that some of the players who started the game were simply not Premier League standard, and this might be a cry to the owners to bring in some reinforcements before the winter window closes.
Moyes may well have been referring to Carlos Sanchez, the midfielder who didn’t cover himself in glory for WBA’s opener. The Colombian was hooked at half time, as were defender Fabian Balbuena and midfielder Pablo Fornals, with the trio of Mark Noble, Angelo Ogbonna and Michail Antonio replacing them. With their introduction, it was virtually a full strength West Ham side, but it still took them 85 minutes to register their first shot on target.
Here is a look at how the big newspapers across the country rated the players following this disappointing Cup exit.
Daily Mail: The Mail gave Balbuena a 3, with Sanchez and Fornals both being rated a 4/10 [Read more…]
