Former Arsenal and England international striker Ian Wright believes that West Ham United would have beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup on Wednesday night at Old Trafford if Danny Ings started the game.
West Ham were without their 30-year-old striker for the 3-1 fifth round defeat, with Ings ineligible for the game, having played for Aston Villa in the competition earlier in this season against Stevenage.
Despite United’s win, West Ham had led for 23 minutes in the second half until the 77th minute, with Said Benrahma’s opener cancelled out by an own goal by Nayef Aguerd, Alejandro Garnacho and Fred scoring in the 90th minute to earn a late winner.
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Either side of Benrahma’s goal, Michail Antonio wasted two good chances to score when being put through on goal by Benrahma and Lucas Paqueta respectively, shooting straight at David De Gea on both occasions when he had golden opportunities to score.
Ahead of game, Ings had made his full debut during last Saturday’s 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest, scoring the first two goals in the heaviest win West Ham have picked up so far this season.
Wright, whose career saw him have a brief stint for the Hammers where he scored nine goals in 26 games, between 1998 and 1999, said that had Ings been available for the game, he may well have taken at least one of Antonio’s big chances which would have put David Moyes’ side in the driving seat to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“It’s tough as it is for them and you haven’t got some of your players available like Danny Ings,” Wright told ITV .
“I think West Ham may have taken one of those - to get that one to make it 2-0 that would have been perfect for them.”
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