The Hammers pulled off a great result against all the odds at Highbury this afternoon.
Goals from Ian Pearce and Dennis Bergkamp ensured that the sides will meet for a fifth time this season.West Ham went into the game missing John Hartson, Trevor Sinclair, Tim Breacker and David Unsworth. Arsenal welcomed back Ray Parlour, Dennis Bergkamp and Nigel Winterburn. Steve Potts, John Moncur and Samassi Abou returned to the fold as replacements. The Hammers played in a 3-5-1-1 formation, Eyal Berkovic playing as the link between midfield and Samassi Abou, who spent much of the match alone up front.
The games first action came within thirty seconds, when Steve Potts brought down Ray Parlour on the edge of the box. Dennis Bergkamp curled the ball aroung the wall and brought out a splendid save from Hammers keeper Bernard Lama, keeping his place in the side as Craig Forrest still had not recovered from his neck injury.
The opening ten minutes were fast and furious; the teams were matching each other for possesion although it was clear that the Hammers were playing on the defensive. The breakthrough came after thirteen minutes. West Ham won a corner, which was taken by Frank Lampard. The ball was played low across the box, Rio Ferdinand dummied and Ian Pearce got in ahead of Tony Adams to strike the ball beyond the despairing dive of Arsenal keeper Alex Manninger. Highbury was stunned, the 6,500 travelling Hammers went mental. Against the odds (and the prediction of every TV pundit), West Ham were infront.
Far from going on the back foot, West Ham continued to play with flair and style. However, they had Rio Ferdinand to thank when he just got in front of Patrick Viera in the six yard box, when the Frenchman was about to pull the trigger.
West Hams best opportunity to increase their score came just after the twenty minute mark. The excellent Stan Lazarides flew past Lee Dixon on the left wing and sent a curling cross to the feet of Eyal Berkovic who was unmarked inside the box. Instead of striking the ball first time, Eyal tried to control it and the ball spilled away from him to safety.
Arsenals equaliser came after 27 minutes. Martin Keown, who again played out of his skin, took the ball from the feet of Ian Pearce just inside the box. Pearce lunged out in an attempt to win the ball back , but just caught Keowns ankle as the big defender skipped past him. Although Keown made the most of it, a penalty was undoubtedly the right decision. Dennis Bergkamp put the ball low and right of keeper Bernard Lama, who was unlucky not to get a hand to the ball. The match was all squared.
In the final seconds of the half, Steve Lomas won a free kick just outside the penalty box. Although the initial cross was cleared, John Moncur nearly made it 2-1, but his low drive was well saved by Manninger.
The second half was much of the same. Sammy Abou should have set up the unmarked Steve Lomas instead of opting to shoot from the edge of the box just after the break. Eyal Berkovic had another good chance, but shot wide from ten yards following another clever Hammers set piece. Arsenal also had their chances; Martin Keown was tripped in the area by Rio Ferdinand following a mazy run but Mike Reed waved play on. Bernard Lama was called upon to make good saves from Overmars and Petit.
Arsenal made the first subsitution after 67 minutes. The disappointing Nicolas Anelka was replaced by Cristopher Wreh. West Ham made a substitution ten minutes later, Eyal Berkovic was replaced by Lee Hodges.
The last ten minutes were predictably all Arsenal. Their best opportunity to wrap up a semi-final place came with just three minutes left on the clock. Ray Parlours cross from wide on the right was deflected off Stan Lazarides, and only the reactions of Bernard Lama, who was forced to change direction in mid-air, prevented a second Arsenal goal.
At the final whistle, the only unsavoury incident of a well fought game occurred between John Moncur and Patrick Viera. Viera, probably more out of frustration than malice swung a fist at Moncur, and then attempted to confront Frank Lampard who had stepped in to sort out the melee. Fortunately for the Frenchman, the incident occurred behind the back of the referee, otherwise he may well have been punished for his outbreak.
West Ham had three players booked during the game, Steve Potts, Steve Lomas and Frank Lampard. Overall it was a poor performace by referee Mike Reed who seemed to be too leniant towards the home side, Ray Parlour and Emanuelle Petit inparticular got away with murder.
As it stands, the clubs return to Upton Park for the replay on Tuesday 17th March. West Ham must be more than pleased with the result, and now have a fantastic opportunity to proceed to a semi-final clash with first division Wolves, who knocked out Leeds at Elland Road yesterday.
Hammers (players and ratings)
Bernard Lama (9) International quality performace, looked assured all afternoon.
Rio Ferdinand (8) A very steady performance, kept Bergkamp under wraps.
Ian Pearce (8) Scored his first goal for the club, solid throughout. Unlucky with the penalty.
Steve Potts (7) Made the occasional rash challenge, but reliable in a crisis as always.
Stan Lazarides (9) A thoroughly excellent performance, scared the pants off Lee Dixon.
Andy Impey (7) Didn't get forward much, but chased everything. Did a good job on Overmars.
John Moncur (8) Added some much needed grit to the centre of the pitch.
Frank Lampard (7) Battled hard, gave the ball away on occasions.
Steve Lomas (8) Solid, led the side by example.
Eyal Berkovic (6) Disappointing, had two great chances to score.
Samassi Abou (7) Hard work up front alone, but he chased all afternoon.
Substitute: Lee Hodges (6) Not in the game long enough to make an impression.
Subs not used: Chris Coyne, Scott Mean, Ian Bishop, Les Sealey.
Goalscorers: Ian Pearce (13), Dennis Bergkamp (27).
Attendance: 38,072.
* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
