EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: West Ham United 2-1 Liverpool
And they have! A dramatic end to a simply wonderful game of football! West Ham United have beaten Liverpool in the FA Cup for the first time in their history, thanks to that stunning late intervention by Angelo Ogbonna! Slaven Bilic spins and screams in delight, while Jurgen Klopp looks utterly deflated: if you thought the FA Cup meant nothing to him, that reaction serves as rebuttal. He manages a sporting smile as he congratulates Bilic, but can’t hold it for long. Liverpool’s young team performed with distinction tonight - their first-teamers want to have a long, hard look at themselves - but on balance West Ham deserved to nick it, especially as they’ve had good penalty shouts in both matches turned down. The FA Cup’s still got it, you know.
Check out James Riach’s match report, and his story on Klopp’s complaints regarding some of the ref’s decisions.
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ET 30 min +1: And that’s the first of two extra minutes gone. West Ham have almost certainly won this at the death!
GOAL! West Ham United 2-1 Liverpool (Ogbonna ET 30+1)
Payet whips the ball to the far post. Ogbonna, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, leaps above Stewart and smacks an unstoppable header into the right-hand corner!
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ET 30 min: Lucas shoves Antonio in the back down the West Ham left. A free kick, 30 yards out. West Ham load the box, and ...
ET 29 min: From the corner, Flanagan has a go from a tight angle on the right. Nope.
ET 28 min: Randolph claims the corner. Liverpool come back at West Ham. Milner has a shot from the edge of the box blocked. The ball breaks right to Flanagan, who fires low for Sturridge. The striker back flicks goalwards, and the ball’s bundled round for a corner.
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ET 27 min: Valencia’s back on. Milner, in a tight spot on the right, chips a lovely ball into the middle of the West Ham half, where Sturridge is in acres. Sturridge dribbles his way into the box, and nearly Ricky Villas his way free. But he’s crowded out, and a corner will have to do.
ET 26 min: Valencia is OK to continue, but has been forced to the sidelines, so he’ll just be watching the free kick. The ball’s chipped into the box. Collins wins a header, but the ball’s heading out of play on the left. No matter, because the flag’s up for offside, or shoving, or something. Liverpool feel a wave of relief.
ET 25 min: Valencia managed to injure himself while stretching for that shot, then colliding with Lucas. He’s down getting treatment. When he rises, West Ham have another free kick in a promising position, Obiang having been clattered in the middle of the Liverpool half.
ET 23 min: Valencia cuts in from the left, takes a couple of touches, and looks to have worked enough space to shoot. But as he hammers the ball goalwards, Lucas comes barrelling into view, and blocks brilliantly. Better from West Ham, though.
ET 22 min: A long throw into the Liverpool box from the left, and it’s easily plucked from the sky by Mignolet. West Ham have fallen a little quiet right now.
ET 21 min: A free kick for West Ham out on the left. Payet hoicks it into the box, but it’s easily cleared and Liverpool break down the other end. Benteke has a chance to go for goal from 20 yards, but curls it well wide of the right-hand post. The big man looks pained. Yes, it’s difficult to watch a player struggle like this.
ET 19 min: Sturridge slips a pass wide left for Origi, who enters the area and, from a tight but not totally prohibitive angle, whacks a shot into the side netting. “Eight minutes of injury time???” splutters Justin Kavanagh. “Did Klopp have his appendix put back in during that second half?”
ET 18 min: Sturridge picks up possession in the centre circle. When he’s 25 yards out, he unleashes a shot towards the top right. It’s a mighty fine effort, but a little too high. If that was on target, Randolph wasn’t reaching it. Very close.
ET 17 min: All very scrappy at the start of this half. A lot of players wandering around, thinking about the prospect of penalty kicks. Unless someone’s a hero in the next 13 minutes or so, someone’s going to be a villain. The crowd, so noisy for so long, suddenly sound pretty tense, too.
ET 16 min: They switched on the bubble machine during the turnaround. Nature at its prettiest, but very distracting. Fortunately, there seems to be nothing going on right now.
And we're off again! (No2 in a series of 2)
West Ham get the ball rolling for the final period of this epic cup tie.
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool
Noble and Payet combine well down the right to earn a corner off Lucas. A chance to load the box. Benteke clears with a towering header, and that’s the end of the first half. We’re 15 minutes away from penalties.
ET 14 min: Smith is still holding his groin, but he’s been running up and down the left freely enough, so chances are it’s cramp rather than a hamstring problem, writes Dr Murray, a quack who actually has no idea and is wildly speculating.
ET 13 min: This is better from Benteke, who holds up play on the right before setting Sturridge scampering towards the West Ham box. He’s got Ibe completely free on his left, but hits a dreadful pass straight at Collins. Then another phase of attack for the visitors, Origi crossing from the left, Benteke battling to win a header in the centre. It flies over, but at least he’s competing at last.
ET 11 min: Liverpool make their final change. Milner comes on for Chirivella, who has been neat and tidy on his full debut for Liverpool. Smith was feeling his hamstring a minute or two ago, so they’ll be hoping he can run whatever’s wrong off.
ET 9 min: Space for Origi out on the left. He curls a cross towards Sturridge at the near post. Sturridge can’t get a head on it, but Collins’ clearance isn’t good, dropping to Benteke, 12 yards out, with time. He lashes wide of the left-hand post. Then in the next phase, an even worse miss! Sturridge slips a clever ball down the middle that flummoxes Collins. Benteke is clear on goal! And he blams a shot straight at Randolph. A wonderful save from West Ham’s point of view, but that’s an appalling miss from a striker who just can’t turn his fortunes around. It’s hard to watch him go about his business.
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ET 7 min: Payet, out on the left, glides inside and slips the ball across for Noble, who takes a touch, opens up his body, and sidefoots a powerful riser towards the top right. Mignolet, at full stretch, batters clear. An inch or two to the right, and the keeper wasn’t getting that. Fine effort from the edge of the D.
ET 6 min: Payet slides Moses in down the inside-left channel. Moses earns a corner, from which Cresswell dispatches a volley halfway towards the tube station.
ET 5 min: Ibe is instrumental in shuttling the ball from right to left, via a series of brisk one-twos. Origi has a little space down the wing, and crosses, but Cresswell heads clear easily.
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ET 3 min: Liverpool stroke it around the back, going nowhere fast. Everyone seems happy enough with this state of affairs, an opportunity to take a breather.
ET 2 min: A long ball down the right for the excellent Antonio to chase. Too much juice on it, and Smith ushers it out for a goal kick without fuss.
Extra time begins!
Liverpool get us underway. They’re keeping their final substitution in the back pocket for now. West Ham have used up all of theirs.
It’s been an excellent cup tie so far. The match at Anfield might have been one for the purists, but this has been a rollicking end-to-end affair. You could easily make a case for either team in extra time, though West Ham finished the second half stronger. And of course they should have had a penalty for Ilori’s tug on Valencia. Just to clarify for anyone unfamiliar with FA Cup rules: away goals aren’t a factor in this marvellous old competition; there will be 30 minutes extra time; and if there’s no winner by the end of that, it’s penalty kicks. We’ll be off in a sec!
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FULL TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool
And that’s that! There’s going to be extra time. After a 53-minute second half. You can just picture the look on Klopp’s face, can’t you.
90 min +8: Payet threatens to break clear down the inside-right channel, but Ilori puts a stop to his gallop.
90 min +7: Obiang has a charge towards the Liverpool box, but lashes a poor shot miles wide right from distance.
90 min +6: Lucas and Mignolet make a bit of a balls of a backpass. Lucas nearly finds the bottom right, Mignolet hacks out by the right-hand corner flag. From the throw, Carroll contests a high ball, but shoves Stewart. Hearts in Liverpool mouths before the flag went up, though, as there’s a shout for a hand ball against Stewart, and Carroll then turned to flash a shot inches wide of the right-hand post.
90 min +5: All a bit scrappy as the nerves kick in.
90 min +4: Collins, of all people, has a dig from 25 yards. Mignolet claims. Liverpool go up the other end and win a corner down the left. From the set piece, Sturridge has a pop from 20 yards, and converts in the rugby style.
90 min +3: Noble hits a deep free kick into the Liverpool box. Carroll wins a header, and flashes it across goal. Valencia tries to hoick home, but Ilori is right up in his grille. Liverpool clear.
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90 min +2: Sturridge twists and turns down the right now, but can’t break clear of a backtracking Cresswell. Staunch defence by West Ham, who were rocking for a minute or two there.
90 min +1: Sturridge chases after a quickly taken free kick down the left. His low cross finds Ibe on the edge of the box. Ibe sidefoots powerfully towards the bottom left. Randolph parries clear, a fine save.
90 min: Valencia wins a corner off Flanagan down the left. Mignolet claims it. There will be eight minutes of added time. Eight minutes!
88 min: Stewart goes in for a 50-50 with Obiang, who stands on his leg, just above the ankle. That’s a potential leg-breaker, though it looked totally accidental, both players stretching for a loose ball. Thankfully, Stewart gets up and, after a grimace, looks OK to continue.
87 min: A yellow card for Antonio as Origi turns him down the left and makes to scoot off down the wing. Origi doesn’t get very far. It’s a fair decision.
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86 min: A loose ball bouncing around the front of the Liverpool box. Noble goes for it, lashing a fine volley towards the top right. Mignolet gathers well.
85 min: Carroll, offside as he breaks into the Liverpool box, comes off second best in a high challenge with Mignolet. He goes down and for a second West Ham hearts are in mouths. No more subs left. But he’s up and about quickly enough.
83 min: O’Brien can’t continue. He’s replaced by another Liverpool old boy in Moses. West Ham mooch upfield, Payet striding down the inside-right channel and looping a cross towards Valencia, ten yards out and level with the left-hand post. Valencia heads harmlessly over the bar, but Liverpool were light at the back there. It wasn’t an easy chance, but he’ll still think he could have done a bit better.
81 min: Ah no, my mistake, I thought everyone shaped as though the ref had awarded a corner, but it’s a goal kick. Before Randolph can get the game underway again, O’Brien requires some treatment.
80 min: Benteke whips one over the wall and down towards the top left. Not a bad effort, and one which would have gone in were it not for a firm hand from Randolph at full stretch. Origi is first to the loose ball, and wins a corner on the left.
79 min: Now Sturridge one-twos with Benteke on the right-hand corner of the West Ham box. This one doesn’t come off either, but the striker looks up for this. And here he is, to the left of the D, nutmegging O’Brien and buying a cheap free kick for obstruction. Another free kick in a dangerous position. Coutinho Country, though the wee man is off the pitch now. Sturridge and Benteke stand over it.
78 min: Origi cuts in from the left and runs across the face of the West Ham box. He lays the ball off to Sturridge, who sliderules a return forward and into the area. Randolph beats Origi to the ball on the penalty spot. An intricate move which nearly paid off.
77 min: A lovely noisy but tense atmosphere at the Boleyn as this FA Cup tie reaches the business end. Everyone doing their bit. Football’s nothing without the fans, huh?
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75 min: Kouyate is quickly up and about, though he does look a little groggy. He wants to go back on, but a sensible decision’s made, and Carroll comes on in his stead. A headline or two waiting to be written by the man who’s still Liverpool’s record signing.
72 min: Kouyate is down, having clashed heads accidentally with Flanagan. It didn’t look like there was much contact, and Flanagan is fine, but the West Ham midfielder is in a bit of pain. He’ll need some treatment.
69 min: Payet dribbles dangerously into the Liverpool box from the left, but can’t keep control as he closes in on shooting distance. The home side are beginning to find their rhythm again, though, after a slow start to the half.
68 min: Liverpool were very lucky there. Slaven Bilic is wandering up and down the touchline with his hands in his pockets, a wry smile on his face. Another poor decision, though, and expect a Full Seethe.
66 min: Antonio nips the ball past Smith down the right, brilliantly so. He whistles a majestic low cross through the Liverpool box. Valencia should smack it home from six yards, but he goes down, claiming a penalty kick. And he should have got it, too, having been tugged back by Ilori. Mind you, it was such a light tug that you wonder why Valencia didn’t just sidefoot home and ask questions later. West Ham quite rightly feel extremely aggrieved though.
65 min: As Liverpool broke upfield, Reid pulled up with a hamstring problem. He limps off and is replaced by Collins. Meanwhile Sturridge changes his boots. Less than six minutes, that pair lasted.
63 min: A couple of corners on the left. Smith puts the first out of play. The second is cleared easily by Liverpool, with Chirivella breaking down the left. He cuts inside and slips the ball to Benteke, who frees Sturridge into the box down the inside-right! But there’s no fairytale introduction: Sturridge miscontrols with only Randolph to beat, and he was offside anyway.
62 min: A free kick for West Ham, wide on the left, and a chance to load the area and cause a little bother. Payet’s free kick is uncharacteristically poor, straight at the wall. But Antonio - after fresh-air kicking at a dropping ball on the right - retrieves the situation and hoicks back into the mixer. Mignolet is forced to tip over the bar, with the ball threatening to drop into the top left.
59 min: Klopp rolls the dice. A tiring Coutinho, his job done, is one of two men to make way, Teixeira the other. On come Origi and Sturridge. A huge cheer from the away end as the latter trots onto the field, pointing at the sky.
58 min: An absurd game of pinball in the Liverpool box. Antonio, Valencia and Cresswell take turns to swing and miss. The ball’s half cleared. Then Mignolet flaps dismally on the edge of his box under a high Cresswell cross, challenged by Kouyate. West Ham can’t prod into the empty net. Liverpool break upfield, but Coutinho’s pass wide to Ibe, who is in acres, is a tired one.
56 min: Shades of hand ball as Benteke turns down the inside-left channel. He backheels the ball brilliantly for Smith to power into the box. He reaches the byline and cuts back. Benteke meets the cross powerfully, but his shot hits Obiang, who has spread himself bravely in the firing line. Benteke should probably have scored there, but he did well to start the move, and should have been flagged for handling the ball. So all in all, it’s probably fair, and for the best, that no goal was scored.
54 min: Flanagan goes on a Power Wander down the right, reaching the byline and hooking into the mixer. There’s still nobody making runs into the area for Liverpool. Where’s Benteke? Meanwhile they’ve been showing replays of that Valencia-Smith incident: a free kick would have been harsh on the full back, in fairness, Valencia having clanked into him, rather than the other way round.
52 min: The home crowd holler in anger once more, as Noble takes a belt from 25 yards up the inside-left channel. The ball smacks into Ilori on the edge of the box. The home side are after a hand-ball decision, but they’re not getting that one either.
51 min: Valencia looks to break into the Liverpool box down the right, but is stopped in his tracks by Smith. He claims a free kick, right on the edge of the area, but he’s getting nothing. The home crowd aren’t happy with that at all. It’ll be interesting to see that one again.
50 min: Ibe is sent skittering into space wide on the right. He curls a fast cross into the box, but there’s nobody in white there to challenge Randolph, who claims well. Liverpool have come out looking very energised.
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GOAL! West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool (Coutinho 48)
Well this is a very clever free kick indeed! Coutinho makes an elaborate show of shaping to blooter one into the top right. The wall jumps. Coutinho rolls the ball along the ground and into the bottom left. That’s some very smart thinking indeed. It didn’t take long for Liverpool’s playmaker to announce his return, then.
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47 min: Coutino and Teixeira swap clever passes down the inside-left channel, and slip the ball to Benteke on the edge of the box. Obiang comes lumbering in, and clatters the striker as he attempts to turn on the left-hand edge of the D. Free kick in a very dangerous position.
And we're off again!
Liverpool were sent out early, possibly with a flea in their ear. Klopp certainly doesn’t look particularly pleased on the touchline. Strange, because this has been one of Liverpool’s better performances of late. The young lads are certainly doing no worse than the usual first picks. They get the ball rolling for the second half. Daniel Sturridge meanwhile is already warming up.
Half-time entertainment: Happier times for Liverpool against West Ham. And a strange substitution - Kenny Dalglish for Alan Hansen - pays dividends for Liverpool in this Upton Park goalfest from 1986.
HALF TIME: West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool
That’s a body blow for Liverpool’s young team, who had been the equals of their West Ham elders in that half. But what a goal! Worthy of winning any game. Which it will do, unless Liverpool can somehow find their first goal of the season against the Hammers in four matches. It promises to be an exciting second half, one way or the other. Don’t leave us!
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GOAL! West Ham United 1-0 Liverpool (Antonio 45)
Payet slips Valencia into space down the left. He dribbles into the box and to the byline, before chipping to the far post. Antonio, cutting in from the right, meets it with a searing volley, six yards out, and crashes the ball across an impotent Mignolet and into the top left. What a finish!
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44 min: Space for Smith yet again down the left. He’s made his way up the length of the pitch. Benteke didn’t bother to make a run into the box. Smith’s cross fizzes harmlessly through the area.
42 min: Valencia skins Smith down the right. He reaches the byline and absolutely skelps a low cross into the centre. Mignolet, at his near post, handles that one well.
40 min: What a brilliantly entertaining game this has been. On the touchline, Slaven Bilic and Liverpool No2 Željko Buvač enjoy a joke. A cup game that’s been played in the right spirit.
38 min: Payet crashes a stunning curler against the right-hand post! Mignolet gets the lightest of fingertips to that. The rebound is headed back towards the top right by Antonio. Mignolet meets this one with a diving punch. West Ham keep pressing, with Liverpool all at sea. Valencia has a dig from the edge of the box but it’s easily blocked. How on earth is this game still goalless? The woodwork’s been rattled three times now: West Ham 2-1 Liverpool.
37 min: West Ham launch another attack at last. It’s not really going anywhere, but Ibe pointlessly shoves Kouyate in the back, just outside the D. A chance for Payet to do his magic from a free kick.
35 min: Another deep corner by Coutinho. Another header by Benteke. Another save by Randolph at his near post. Fine football all round, and that’s a far better couple of minutes for Benteke, who with a little more luck would have had either a goal or an assist there.
34 min: Reid plays a dreadful ball out of the West Ham defence down the right. Coutinho latches onto the ball and slips Benteke free down the Liverpool left. It’s a poor ball by Coutinho, who should be setting Benteke clear into the box. But he’s pushed his striker a little bit wide. Benteke stops on the byline and executes a brilliant drag-back to fox O’Brien, then cutting the ball back for Coutinho, who opens his body and crashes a shot against the left-hand post. The rebound falls to Stewart, whose effort is deflected wide left of goal for a corner.
33 min: A burst of energy by Payet down the inside-left channel, but the Liverpool back line holds its shape and he quickly loses possession on the edge of the box. “A couple of years ago I told my eleven year old son that right next door to Upton Park there was a bubble factory, hence the number of bubbles in the air. I only ‘fessed up recently, and only after he’d confidently informed all his friends.” Proud dad Tony Crawford there.
31 min: Benteke tries to spin on the edge of the area, taking an Ibe pass from the right, but falls over. Then he’s caught two yards offside as Chirivella slips a clever pass down the inside-right channel. None of it’s ideal, but he’s keeping busy and involved, which is not something you can always say about the enigmatic striker.
29 min: Benteke bundles Obiang to the ground in the centre circle. Another chance for West Ham to load the box and hit it long. They do the former, then forget about the latter. Very strange. Then Liverpool break upfield, with Smith romping in more space down the left flank. His low cross is only half-cleared by the Hammers, and rebounds to Teixeira, level with the left-hand post, 12 yards out. He’s got to make Randolph work at the very least, but fails dismally, dragging a low shot wide left. He falls to his knees in pain, knowing full well he’s missed a fine one there.
26 min: Teixeira slides Smith into space on the overlap down the left. Smith reaches the byline and hooks a low ball into the centre. Benteke misses it. Ibe, on the penalty spot, should trap and shoot, but lets the ball roll under his foot. So clumsy, an opportunity spurned. West Ham try to break upfield through Kouyate. Stewart stops him with a clumsy kick on his knee, and can’t have any complaints over receiving a yellow card.
25 min: Liverpool take the sting out of the game with a lot of passing in the midfield, this way and that, then back to the keeper, and over again. It’s an ersatz version of the 1980s.
23 min: Ah well, there you go, this one passes without any incident whatsoever.
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22 min: West Ham have wrested the upper hand from Liverpool here. They’re winning the majority of loose balls in the midfield. Smith gets to a rare one first for Liverpool, but needlessly handles. A free kick, allowing West Ham to load the box. The ball’s hoicked into the mixer, forcing Ilori to head behind for a corner. You know what Liverpool have been like with these this season.
19 min: A slight lull after all that action. Antonio nearly breaks clear down the right, but again he’s chasing after an overhit pass. Not entirely sure Lucas looks happy with his lot tonight. The expression on his face screams: I have concerns.
16 min: And this is even closer! Payet spreads a pass wide right for O’Brien. Where’s Smith? Not there, is where. O’Brien takes a touch on the edge of the box and then shoots. The ball takes a slight deflection off Lucas, flies past Mignolet and crashes off the base of the right-hand post! Liverpool clear after a fashion. What a bright start to this game!
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15 min: Coutinho hits another corner long. Benteke meets this one again, this time with a volley that’s parried well at his near post by Randolph. So close to the opening goal!
14 min: Teixeira pitching-wedges a pass down the left wing to send Coutinho into some space. He wins a corner, and takes it himself. He hits it long. Benteke heads back into the six-yard box. There’s a game of pinball. Neither Teixeira nor Stewart can get a shot away. The ball brushes O’Brien’s hand, but that’s never a penalty. The ball squirts out to the left of the West Ham goal for another corner.
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11 min: Valencia and Antonio gegenpress Lucas and Ilori. The Liverpool centre-back pairing panic a bit, and require Chirivella to drop back and help them out. The young midfielder clips a fine pressure-relieving pass out of a melee and wide to Smith. Fine work, except Smith lets the simple ball run out of play. West Ham come again at Liverpool, Noble chipping down the inside-right channel with a view to releasing Antonio. The pass is too strong, but the home side are beginning to get into this match after a slightly groggy start.
9 min: West Ham finally show a little attacking intent, Payet sending Cresswell into room along the left flank. The full back whips a teasing cross into the area, but there’s nobody up with play, and Mignolet can come off his line to claim without fuss or ceremony.
8 min: Liverpool have started this game confidently. Ibe slides a ball down the right to release Benteke into the area. Faced with a tight angle, the confidence-free striker is never going to have a lash at goal. Instead, he holds the ball up and looks for a cross. That clanks into Ogbonna. But a promising move by this makeshift team.
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6 min: Smith bursts into a bit of space down the left. The young Aussie has a cross on him. He puts a decent high ball into the box, in the general direction of Benteke, but Cresswell has read the flight perfectly and flicks a header clear of danger. “About the bubbles floating around Upton Park. Might they be a symbol of the financial sustainability of all this modern football?” Hot topical satire, ladies and gentlemen, from the pen of Peter Oh. Perhaps he should have saved it for 77 min.
4 min: It’s all a bit scrappy so far, with not much shape to the match. Fans of both teams are giving it plenty, nevertheless. Steven Gerrard still very much a hot topic of debate.
2 min: A couple of historical pointers. Liverpool have never lost to West Ham in the cup. But on the other hand, the last season West Ham did the double over Liverpool in the league, 1963-64, ended with FA Cup success at Wembley. Something’s got to give tonight.
And we're off!
Before kick off, a warm round of applause to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of West Ham’s 1964 cup-winning manager, Ron Greenwood. Then the home side get the ball rolling. Liverpool pick up possession quickly enough, and Ibe slides a ball down the inside-right channel towards Teixeira, who chases it into the area. Ogbonna shoulder charges the young midfielder to the ground, and that’s a goal kick. Nobody claims for a penalty kick, either in the stand or on the pitch.
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The teams are out! West Ham United are in the Victorian splendour of their famous claret and blue, forcing Liverpool into second-choice white. As always at Upton Park, there’s a cracking atmosphere, with plenty of bubbles sailing around the night sky. Loads of them. They’ll never float alone. We’ll be off in a minute.
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Meanwhile poor Klopp would have liked some sympathy for his recent visit to hospital, but is resigned to getting bupkis. “I would like to say I have big pain, but I don’t, and I am here! Maybe it was a good combination of British doctor and German patient. I don’t celebrate like a crazy devil when we score, sometimes I am cool, so if something happens positively I know what I have to do.” What about the central defensive pairing of Ilori and Lucas? “Well, we want a really strong bench.” [Folds up in laughter at his own zinger.] “It’s difficult. First of all it’s good that [Divock] Origi, Phil [Coutinho] and Dan [Sturridge] are back, but after four days training we cannot bring them all together in the starting line-up. Steven Caulker yesterday said he had a stiff back, so we had to create a new idea, and this is the new idea. Also Pedro [Chirivella] is a big talent and we are looking forward to watching him tonight. We have no doubts about his quality.”
Bilic speaks! “I was happy with the way we played after the first 15 minutes at Southampton. But we have to have a better start tonight, the sort we showed against Liverpool and Manchester City a few weeks ago. I do not think we are strong favourites because Liverpool are a good team. OK, so they have a few players in midfield who are not regulars, but they have players on the bench, and the game could be very long! We have played against them a few times and done well, but it’s a new game. If we do what we are capable of, hopefully we are going to go through.”
West Ham make five changes from the team that went down to defeat at Southampton on Saturday evening. Darren Randolph takes Adrian’s place in goal, as he does for the cup. Elsewhere, James Tomkins, James Collins, Victor Moses and Alex Song step down, with Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang, Joey O’Brien and Angelo Ogbonna coming in.
Liverpool make their usual wholesale changes for the FA Cup. Only Simon Mignolet survives from the team that started the 2-2 draw with Sunderland. Lucas captains another young team, and joins Tiago Ilori in the centre of a makeshift defence. Hmm. But there is some good news for Klopp’s side in the return from injury of Philippe Coutinho.
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The teams
West Ham United: Randolph, O’Brien, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyate, Noble, Obiang, Antonio, Valencia, Payet.
Subs: Carroll, Adrian, Collins, Moses, Oxford, Cullen, Parfitt-Williams.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Flanagan, Stewart, Tiago Ilori, Smith, Teixeira, Lucas, Chirivella, Ibe, Benteke, Coutinho.
Subs: Jose Enrique, Milner, Henderson, Sturridge, Origi, Ward, Randall.
Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire).
Good evening!
West Ham United go into this match as strong favourites, whatever team Liverpool decide to put out. The logic is simple enough. They’ve beaten tonight’s opponents home and away in the league this season. They’d have most likely had another win at Anfield against the kids in the cup, had the referee only spotted Steven Caulker’s penalty-area bump-set-spike. They beat Liverpool here at Upton Park in the league last season, too. Liverpool meanwhile haven’t scored a goal against West Ham for 280 minutes. They recently went on a 359-minute run without finding the net. And they’ve only won three of their last 11 games.
Favourites don’t always make it through, though. We trot out that trite statement simply to make one thing clear: this could potentially be the very last FA Cup tie ever played at the Boleyn Ground, 111 years and two months after Brighton and Hove Albion beat the Hammers 2-1 in the sixth qualifying round of the 1904-05 competition. Even if West Ham win, a fifth-round trip to Blackburn Rovers is the prize for the victors, with the potential of another away draw in the sixth round. You never know. So just in case, soak up every minute, friends. This could be the evening a curtain fell.
Slaven Bilić is determined not to become overwhelmed by emotion. “It’s not about a farewell to Upton Park. It is important but it would be as important if there wasn’t a story about the Olympic Stadium. OK, it adds a little bit, but it would be the same and we would put our strongest team anyway. It has nothing to do with the stadium. We are very determined. We are going to do everything we can.”
Jürgen Klopp, meanwhile, his appendix freshly ripped out, has promised to look after himself by staying calm on the touchline. It’s not that we don’t believe him, but let’s hope those stitches are strong.
This should be a cracker, anyway. West Ham will hope to continue their excellent recent form against tonight’s opponents, and partially avenge the 2006 final; Liverpool may feel they’re due a break against the Hammers. It’s potentially fin de siècle at Upton Park. It’s definitely the fourth round of the FA Cup. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm GMT.
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