FIFTH ROUND REPEAT
Derby County 0 West Ham 2
In one of the odd repercussions of FA Cup television match staging, West Ham knew before their game that, should they beat tonight’s Division One opponents Derby County, they would face Manchester United away, in a repeat of their fifth round contest back in March 2015.
To win or to lose then offered slightly less than it would otherwise had done. Nevertheless, West Ham started well and have the ball in the net after just minute, Antonio and Souček linking well to set up Bowen for a neat finish on the edge of the six yard box.
It’s his third in two, and although it’s lower league opposition, it’s the first time they have scored a goal this early in a competitive match for some time. This kind of thing was happening right across last season – perhaps now those open gates will have an element of flood about them in the weeks to come.
13 Alphonse Areola, 2 Ben Johnson, 24 Thilo Kehrer, 33 Emerson, 21 Angelo Ogbonna (captain), 27 Nayef Aguerd, 12 Flynn Downes, 28 Tomas Souček, 8 Pablo Fornals, 9 Michail Antonio, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 22 Saïd Benrahma, 10 Manuel Lanzini, 3 Aaron Cresswell, 72 Divin Mubama
Goalscorers: Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio
