US Players shine in FA Cup tie

[TommyBB]

Fulham went into Upton Park in a FA Cup 5th round replay against West Ham and came away with a 3-0 win. I watched the first half, and West Ham a First Division side gave Fulham nearly all they could handle. Indeed, most of the play was in Fulham's end despite the fact that the Hammers were missing seven regulars including starting 'Keeper Pavel Srnicek.

The Cottagers goalkeeper, Dutch International Edwin Van der Sar was brilliant save for one play where he almost gave up a goal ranging far to his left along the end line, nearly out of his penalty box. Here are the squads:

West Ham United (4-4-2): Bywater; Dailly (Mellor, 82), Ferdinand, Quinn, Mullins; Carrick, Etherington, Horlock (Lee, 80), Harewood; Connolly, Deane (Lomas, 74). Substitutes not used: Forde (gk), Carole.

Fulham (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Volz, Djetou (Knight, 47), Goma, Bocanegra; Legwinski, Malbranque, Davis (Pembridge, 90), Petta (Hayles, 73); McBride, Boa Morte Substitutes not used: Crossley (gk), Inamoto.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).

http://sport.independent.co.uk/footb...p?story=494830
Here's the story from
The Independent

Brian McBride scored the first goal in the 72nd minute from 18 yards out on an assist from fellow Yank Carlos Bocanegra.

Barry Hayles and Luis Boa Morte scored the second and third goals respectively. Back up keeper Bywater who started in nets for the Hammers had a good first half in my opinion. But I didn't see the second half. But from the story it seems he held tough for another half hour until Fulham finally scored and the flood gates opened in the last dozen and a half minutes.

West Ham is young; if they can hold onto some of their talent especially Ferdinand and Harewood they'll go back up to the Premiership by the end of next season.

Here's The Times' take:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...014612,00.html

Originally Posted by The Times

Certainly, Brian McBride continues to impress. His goal with 14 minutes remaining was an isolated instance of lethal Barclaycard Premiership class. Yet within a minute, Marlon Harewood had an excellent chance to draw the home side level. Unsurprisingly, he wasted it.

Harewood was the chief culprit all night. For someone with such a fine goalscoring record, he was surprisingly wasteful; the potency he exuded when charging down the right wing became profligacy when it came to the crunch. Alan Pardew, the West Ham manager, lamented the wasted opportunities. “You need to take those,” he said. “If we’d have got the first goal, it might have energised us.”

Weakened teams have become a feature of FA Cup ties, but at least West Ham have an excuse for putting out a team shorn of some first-choice players. Pardew has effected a low-budget makeover on West Ham with a level of speed and imagination normally seen only on daytime TV programmes. His squad renovations via loan signings and mid-season purchases meant that seven players were ineligible last night.