West Ham United manager David Moyes blasted his side's defending following their 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, insisting they "blew" their chance to progress in the competition.
Despite taking a 54th-minute lead through versatile attacker Said Benrahma, the Hammers gave United a helping hand in their quest to get back into the contest when defender Nayef Aguerd, under pressure from Wout Weghorst, headed into his own net from a Bruno Fernandes corner with 77 minutes on the clock.
That looked as though it would be enough to send the contest to an additional 30 minutes and the prospect of a penalty shootout. However, Alejandro Garnacho bent home a sumptuous 90th-minute curler to turn the game on its head and put United 2-1 in front, ahead of substitute Fred adding a third deep into stoppage time.
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West Ham, who had arrived at Old Trafford still purring from their 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend, squandered a collection of chances both before and after Benrahma's opener, the best of which fell to Michail Antonio. And for boss Moyes, who has never won a game as an opposing manager in M16, it was a golden opportunity to keep their FA Cup dream alive this season wasted.
"We had a great opportunity to go through tonight and we blew it in my eyes," said Moyes, as quoted by football.london. "We just couldn't see it through.
"While we didn't get a second goal, we gave away a couple of ridiculous goals."
The Hammers boss added: "I'm more disappointed that we didn't get through, I really am. We played well enough to beat them and get through.
"It's also playing against good teams, playing against Manchester United for 80 minutes. I thought we played well."
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