Manchester United 1-1 West Ham: Player Ratings
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West Ham were ten minutes away from their first victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford in their last ten attempts, but a late goal from Anthony Martial leveled the match at one goal apiece to force a Sixth Round FA Cup replay at the Boleyn Ground.
The Hammers could not hold onto their one-goal advantage which came from a world-class Dimitri Payet free kick which beat David De Gea from 30 yards out.
The Frenchman dazzled in front of the 9,000 West Ham supporters who made the trip up north hoping to see West Ham advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2006.
Starting two strikers, Andy Carroll and Emmanuel Emenike, did not bring more goals to the team, as Slaven Bilic may have hoped and West Ham were out shot by Manchester United 18 to 12, although the Hammers were the better team and should have won.
Here are our player ratings from the game:
Darren Randolph - 7
Randolph made smart, quick decisions to come out and claim the ball out of the air, and all-in-all had a solid performance.
The Irish international benefited from a few well-timed blocks from Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell and lucked out with Manchester United players not making the most of their opportunities on goal, resulting in only one save on the night.
The 83rd-minute goal Anthony Martial scored to tie the game up and force a replay could hardly be blamed on Randolph.
Manchester United’s Bastian Schweinsteiger pushed the 28-year-old keeper into his own net, but the clear foul went uncalled.
Aaron Cresswell - 8
Aaron Cresswell played both his attacking and defending roles superbly, feeding the Hammers with well-timed crosses from the left wing.
While none of his balls were slotted home, both Andy Carroll and Emmanuel Emenike came close with headers in the first 20 minutes of the match.
Angelo Ogbonna - 8
Ogbonna has been a consistent stopper for the Hammers the past month. With all of the injuries to the back line, Ogbonna has been able to hold the team together.
Ogbonna and Randolph were unlucky not to earn a clean sheet for their work against Manchester United.
Winston Reid - 6
Winston Reid had a mixed performance in his first match back from injury. On one hand, Reid likely saved a goal with his brilliant sliding stop on Ander Herrera’s teed up effort
On the other side of things, Reid earned a silly yellow card in the first 90 seconds of the match and was forced to come off with 30 minutes yet to play.
Cheikhou Kouyate covered in the back for Reid’s swap with Pedro Obiang, but Reid’s experience may have aided in clearing the ball which Anthony Martial tucked away, rather than having Diafra Sakho back defending.
Michail Antonio - 8
Antonio was again a work horse for the Hammers, filling in as a right back. Defensively, despite a yellow card, Antonio was tidy and effective.
The 25-year-old chipped in on the attack, and nearly bagged the winner with a low effort just tipped away by a diving David De Gea in the closing minutes of the game.
Manuel Lanzini - 6
Lanzini was not as crisp today as we have come to expect. Bullied off of the ball, the Argentinian did not make the most of his speed and agility.
Lanzini did find ways to clear the ball from trouble on multiple occasions.
Cheikhou Kouyate - 7
Kouyate was again the versatile player the Hammers have come to rely on. Filling in at the back to make way for Reid’s early exit, Kouyate made key clearances to force a replay at Upton Park against Manchester United.
With two fouls committed and a yellow card earned, Kouyate had to be careful as time wound down not to be sent off as he was against Blackburn in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.
Mark Noble - 7
Mark Noble led the Hammers with 52 passes against Manchester United and was the field general as always. He chipped in on offense too, earning the Hammers a corner kick.
Dimtri Payet - 9
Dimitri Payet earns the highest rating out of all West Ham players.
His brilliant curling free kick from 30 yards out earned West Ham a Sixth Round replay.
Payet wheeled away in celebration before the ball even beat the top-notch David De Gea. Hitting off the inside corner of the post, there was no stopping the wonderful strike.
Payet also impressed with 36 passes, including a long ball that nearly had Emmanuel Emenike in on goal.
The only blemish on Payet’s night would be his yellow card and near second yellow for what Paul Scholes believed was a dive in the box.
As Payet beat Marouane Fellaini, he was caught by Marcos Rojo’s knee, but it was too light for referee Martin Atkinson to call a penalty.
Liverpool’s Christian Benteke earned a penalty from a similar play last week, where he caught Damien Delaney’s knee in the box.
Andy Carroll - 7
Andy Carroll nearly headed home a cross from Aaron Cresswell in the 10th minute, but beyond that, the Hammers did not see as much in front of goal from the Englishman.
Instead, Carroll helped by coming back on defence, playing a big role in clearances, as well as supplying layoffs to Emmanuel Emenike.
Emmanuel Emenike - 6
Emenike used his pace to his advantage again today, but really should have slotted home at least one of his two early chances.
In the fifth minute, Emenike pushed Carroll’s flick on header past the post. Then in the 18th minute, a free header from six yards out should have been put in the net despite a strong save from David De Gea.
Sub: Pedro Obiang - 7
Pedro Obiang always gives a defensive boost to the midfield. He came on for Winston Reid in the 62nd minute. Despite Anthony Martial’s goal after Obiang came on, the Spanish defensive midfielder did a great job of shutting down any further attack on the West Ham goal.
Sub: Enner Valencia - 6
Enner Valencia did not bring much to the team when he entered in the 82nd minute. In fact, Carroll’s defensive help was missed late on in the match.
Sub: Diafra Sakho - 6
Diafra Sakho did not have any direct efforts on goal after he came on in the 64th minute for Emmanuel Emenike. Sakho did not contest Martial for the ball on Martial’s 83rd-minute goal.
He is a striker back in defence, but he could have done more to disrupt Martial and maybe kept a clean sheet against Manchester United.