West Ham and particularly Craig Dawson were terrorised by Armando Broja once again
(Picture: REUTERS)As West Ham's forward line plodded towards a limp defeat at Southampton, David Moyes could have been afforded an envious glance at the opposing dugout.
All of Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen were given a chance to shine in the FA Cup tie at St Mary’s, but not one of them offered the quality and composure of Armando Broja, who tormented the Hammers once again.
The Albanian's performance in winning a penalty and scoring a fine solo goal late on from the bench was a lesson in the benefits of depth and competition - something West Ham are sorely lacking.
Moyes named arguably his strongest available XI on the south coast, despite trips to Liverpool and Sevilla on the horizon, but his side were outclassed by Ralph Hasenhuttl's men. The Saints boss made nine changes and still they were the more purposeful team.
How Moyes would like such depth at this stage of a season, with West Ham’s remarkable campaign threatening to peter out as the same side face the same problems every week.
An Antonio goal from a set-piece brought West Ham level after Romain Perraud had opened the scoring with a stunning strike from range, but the visitors failed to kick on and take hold.
Broja toyed with Craig Dawson following his introduction and, just as he did at the London Stadium on Boxing Day, won a penalty from the West Ham man.
After James Ward-Prowse converted from the spot, Broja added his own goal in the fifth minute of added time, collecting a poor header from Dawson before shimmying past Kurt Zouma and finishing in the far corner. Moyes is in desperate need of such dynamism.
"At one each it looked like there was only going to be one team winning it," Moyes said. "But we made a terrible mistake defensively which gave them a chance to get back in front. We are lacking in quality in the final third of the field.
"We have players who need to find some quality and start to make the right decisions in the final third, completing passes and making the right choices. We build up well and got good opportunities, but our finishing and final pass was so poor, so poor."
Moyes's squad are facing the same problems in each disappointing outing. Sunday's win over Wolves looked to be a turning point but here they were short on ideas once more, with the forward line looking stagnant thanks to a lack of competition.
The Hammers tried and failed to add to their squad in January, even discussing a move for Broja himself, though it was too complicated a deal to negotiate with parent club Chelsea and Southampton.
West Ham’s players were impressed with Broja's display against them on Boxing Day but must now be sick of the sight of the 20-year-old.
It is thought Moyes passed on the idea of signing the Albania international ahead of the season, but the interest will certainly continue into this summer following another superb display at their expense.
