West Ham United booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday.
Said Benrahma’s stunning strike against his former club, ten minutes after coming on as a second half substitute, sealed the Hammers’ victory, their first in seven matches in all competitions.
As David Moyes’ men got their long-awaited wait for a competitive match victory, here are five of the major talking points from the Gtech Community Stadium.
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David Moyes’ comments ring true
In recent days, manager Moyes has suggested that maybe it would take “a screamer” to get West Ham back on track. Against Brentford, they got exactly that.
For the first 70 or so minutes of the tie, it was largely a drab affair, one which Brentford dominated on the ball and West Ham had to defend and bide their time, sniffing out whatever counter-attacks they could.
Yoane Wissa, latching onto a first half cross to get a shot away, had perhaps the only chance that either side had of note before half-time, one that Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski saved well.
The second half started with much more tempo and gusto to it, both sides exchanging early scares without really kicking down the door.
West Ham thought they had their breakthrough when Emerson’s cross went into the direction of unmarked duo Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen just outside the six yard box. Soucek met it, but could only volley wide on his left foot.
With 21 minutes to go, Soucek’s number came up and on came Benrahma, West Ham’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League and a player adored by both sets of supporters in west London.
His arrival led from a switch from 3-5-2 to 3-4-2-1 and with that, West Ham quickly transformed into a side looking problematic for the Bees and the one that would ultimately progress in the cup.
Ten minutes after Benrahma’s introduction, captain Declan Rice would dispossess Wissa just inside Brentford’s half, falling to the Algerian winger, who drove towards the box and unleashed a stunning strike on the rise from 25 yards out past a dumbfounded Thomas Strakosha.
Brentford threatened with half-chances late on, but if anything, a second goal looked as if it could come from West Ham, Benrahma losing his footing on a counter-attack when Bowen was open on the square ball, if only he could have got the pass right.
In the end, it did not matter. A mix of resolute defending, Benrahma’s undoubted quality and a stingless Bees attack saw West Ham return to winning ways. A place in the FA Cup’s fourth round now awaits.
Said Benrahma use spot on
Moyes told football.London in his post-match press conference that was debating starting Benrahma in the game, although it worked in his favour that he did not.
West Ham started with a makeshift 3-5-2 shape and despite the lack of wingers, Benrahma was in consideration to start as one of the two strikers.
While the Hammers lacked creativity before he came on, his presence and the switch to 3-4-3 helped get West Ham back on the front foot.
Not only his goal, but a give-and-go with Rice prior to that led to the Irons captain breaking into the penalty area and getting a good shot away. He also almost helped to kill the game off when breaking through with Bowen towards the end of the tie.
Of course, there is an argument to be had that if he started the game, West Ham would have had his creativity sooner, but with Brentford’s defence starting to tire, an injection of his pace and directness came as a needed and welcome boost for Moyes’ men.
Benrahma has, however, this season made a knack of being the difference maker from the bench, coming on to inspire a win at Aston Villa in August.
Considering he is the club’s second top scorer in all competitions and joint-top in the league, he should be among the first names on the team sheet. But if Moyes opts not to start him, he knows he has got a serious option to bring on from the bench.
FA Cup potential
West Ham’s win over Brentford booked them into round four of the competition on a day where five top-flight sides - Newcastle United, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth - all bowed out of the competition, with Everton also exiting on Friday night and one of Manchester City and Chelsea also to depart imminently.
The prize at stake for winning the FA Cup this season? A place in Europe, something West Ham are determined to get, but the likelihood of doing so via the Premier League has severely dwindled after just one point from their last six games.
Really, with at least eight Premier League sides out of the fourth round, the chances of a favourable run to get far in the competition are likely and considering their missed chance in the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup could make a good alternative for them.
The Hammers could also get there via the Europa Conference League, as winning that trophy also puts them into next season’s Europa League.
Even if they did not win the FA Cup, the competition itself is a brilliant opportunity to gain momentum and West Ham did exactly that in beating one of the Premier League’s most in-form sides in Brentford. Not just with the winner, but the manner of it was arguably just as impressive.
A rare clean sheet
Clean sheets, like wins, this season have not been all too common, certainly against English sides this season, with the win being only their fourth shutout against another English side this term.
With Kurt Zouma out, they have looked more defensively vulnerable in their last three Premier League games, but it was a problem they eradicated at Brentford, albeit against a weakened Brentford side.
All three centre-backs that featured, Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Nayef Aguerd, played their part in that. All were solid and Ogbonna cut out a crucial chance from Mikel Damsgaard. Brentford offered there little barring that and efforts from Wissa and Lewis-Potter were saved by Fabianski with relative comfort.
If West Ham can keep up their defensive solidarity, with their centre-back trio all doing their jobs at Brentford and Zouma closing in on a return, it could be a massive boost in their quest to get back on track, with their defensive record before Christmas perhaps being the biggest plus point of their season so far.
Tomas Soucek’s struggles
On a largely positive day, despite a slow to get going cup tie, one concern was the performance of Czech Republic international midfielder Tomas Soucek.
Moyes is keen to find the midfield balance between getting him, Rice and Lucas Paqueta in the same side, with Soucek playing in a higher role in West Ham’s last two games, with Moyes aiming to get Soucek back in scoring form that he has shown previously at the club.
Against Brentford, he came closest to scoring when being picked out by Emerson’s cross, but steered a volley wide when at the very least, he should have hit the target.
He gave the ball away 10 times in the match, at times starting attacking moves for the hosts and it was only when Benrahma replaced him that West Ham truly looked like a side capable of scoring in west London. He also conceded two fouls and was dribbled past once.
At the moment, Soucek really looks out of form, whether he needs a goal or just a run of good performances remains to be seen. Of Moyes’ three-man midfield, Soucek is currently the one looking out of place.
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