Being dumped out of the FA Cup is never nice, but West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in the third round replay on Wednesday night means the Hammers can now focus solely on their Premier League survival.
Staying in the Premier League was named as West Ham’s number one priority for the 2012/2013 season before it began and very little has changed. Even when the Hammers started the campaign so positively and talk of Europe was dancing from the mouths of optimists, the realists were quick to remind those hopers that the Hammers are a newly promoted side still trying to stamp their place in England’s elite division.
Although West Ham can rest assured on the seven-point cushion between them and the relegation zone for now, the team has failed to perform well consistently, giving fans reason to be fearful about their team being dragged into yet another excruciating relegation battle.
Now that Sam Allardyce’s side are out of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, they only have to fight on one front, allowing them to commit all their resources to a single goal. And, when the starting line-up for the replay against Man United was announced, it quickly became apparent Big Sam had not forgotten that keeping West Ham in the Premier League takes precedence over all other ambitions at present.
The Hammers boss chose to give starts to Academy products Jordon Spence and Dan Potts and gave youngsters Seb Lletget and Elliot Lee places on the subs bench, with the 18-year-old Lee replacing the disappointing Ricardo Vaz Te to make his debut with 77 minutes gone.
With West Ham chasing the game from the moment Wayne Rooney put United ahead in the 9th minute, the Hammers showed very little real desire to snatch victory from their opponents and Lee’s introduction towards the end of the game showed Allardyce would not risk experienced players to stay in a competition that would only disturb his players from their aim to maintain the club’s Premier League status.
This assertion was backed up by Carlton Cole’s tweet on the morning after the game. The number nine said: ‘I understand, altough [sic] we are all generally disappointed, we really do need to focus on the league, that’s the most important thing at the mo.’
Hammers fans should be pleased that their side no longer have any unnecessary distractions, but the nature of West Ham’s exit from the Cup was hard for them to swallow. In the original match at Upton Park, West Ham were 2-1 up and on the cusp of advancing into the fourth round (past the most successful English football club in history) when Robin Van Persie equalised for Man United in the 91st minute, forcing the game to be replayed.
Only the most painfully positive West Ham supporters genuinely believed they would see the Hammers finish what they had started when they travelled to Old Trafford, but the controversy surrounding the defeat made it difficult to accept.
West Ham were denied a penalty by referee Phil Dowd when Rafael handled the ball in Man United’s 18-yard box early in the second half, but Dowd then awarded the home side a spot-kick late on when Jordan Spence made the same error for the Hammers.
This left Allardyce fuming with Dowd when the referee blew the final whistle and sealed West Ham’s exit from the Cup. Big Sam now faces being charged by the FA for his comments in his post-match interview.
“There was no doubt whatsoever about the difference between Rafael’s hand ball and Jordan Spence’s,” Allardyce told ITV: “Jordan Spence plays for West Ham away against Manchester United and Rafael plays at home at Old Trafford. It’s got to be that simple when you see it.
“Phil Dowd was in the perfect position. Arm to ball, he [Rafael] pushes the ball away with his left arm. No penalty. Go the other end and the ball hits Jordan Spence’s hand. If you give one, you have to give them both. Simple as that. You’ve seen it for yourself and you can look at the replay as many times as you want.
“We have a laptop and code the game. I’ve looked at his position for the Rafael one and it is perfect – straight in line with it, right in front of it. He had a worse position than Jordan Spence’s.
“We are very disappointed we are not given a penalty which is blatant and clear for the referee to see. He couldn’t find the courage to give it.”
While Big Sam thundered and West Ham followers acted similarly, the realisation that the team can now concentrate on avoiding the dreaded drop should provide all those associated with the club with a silver lining to this wispy, wintery cloud.
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