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The FA Cup - Third Round
BrentfordBrentford0West HamWest Ham United1

Brentford 0-1 West Ham United: Said Benrahma's strike sees Hammers through

By Callum MatthewsBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section FA Cupcomments258

Manager David Moyes hopes West Ham United's FA Cup win at Brentford will be a turning point in their season.

Said Benrahma knocked out his former club as he collected the ball after a perfectly timed Declan Rice tackle and thumped home from 25 yards.

That gave the Hammers, who are fourth-bottom in the Premier League, their first win in seven games.

"I think the result in midweek [2-2 at Leeds] and a good win here today is something to build on," said Moyes.

"Getting through in any cup competition is important and we just about got there today.

"I said last week we could do with someone scoring a screamer and Said did that. His impact was excellent. It was a terrific goal."

While it was a fine strike by the Algeria winger, the ball went over reserve keeper Thomas Strakosha in the middle of the goal, raising the suggestion he should have done better.

Brentford made seven changes and only had one shot on target in a game lacking attacking quality.

Moment of quality decides drab game

Large periods of the match were spent with the ball passed around the defence and midfield.

The Brentford Community Stadium pitch was heavy after the Bees played there on Monday and London Irish on Wednesday, with conditions getting worse as the first half progressed because of driving rain.

It led to little quality, with Yoane Wissa's toe-poked effort hitting Lukasz Fabianski on the ankle, before going behind for a corner.

That was the closest Brentford came in the whole game, with their performance disjointed by the changes made.

They were a surprise after Thomas Frank hinted at wanting a cup run, calling their Carabao Cup exit to League Two Gillingham their "biggest disappointment" this season.

West Ham made four changes and fielded a strong side, but they too lacked quality throughout the game.

Tomas Soucek should have scored but flicked an Emerson cross wide from seven yards out in the opening exchanges of the second period.

Benrahma's strike was West Ham's first on target, and was a fine effort, but Strakosha will be disappointed.

The winger decided not to celebrate against his former side, but the goal will have been relief to West Ham and manager Moyes, who would not have wanted a replay in between crucial Premier League games against fellow strugglers Wolves and Everton.

It continues Moyes' impressive record in the FA Cup third round, with the Scot now having won 10 of his 12 ties at that stage.

Line-ups

Brentford

Formation 3-5-2

  • 22Strakosha
  • 20AjerSubstituted forHenryat 80'minutes
  • 29Bech Sørensen
  • 16MeeSubstituted forTrevittat 90'minutes
  • 30Roerslev
  • 10DasilvaSubstituted forJaneltat 69'minutes
  • 8Jensen
  • 24DamsgaardSubstituted forCanósat 80'minutes
  • 14Ghoddos
  • 23Lewis-PotterSubstituted forSchadeat 69'minutes
  • 11WissaBooked at 64mins

Substitutes

  • 3Henry
  • 7Canós
  • 9Schade
  • 13M Jorgensen
  • 27Janelt
  • 33Stevens
  • 34Cox
  • 35Trevitt
  • 36Yarmolyuk

West Ham

Formation 3-5-2

  • 1Fabianski
  • 15DawsonBooked at 73mins
  • 21Ogbonna
  • 27Aguerd
  • 2Johnson
  • 11Lucas PaquetáSubstituted forDownesat 86'minutes
  • 41Rice
  • 28SoucekSubstituted forBenrahmaat 69'minutes
  • 33Emerson
  • 20Bowen
  • 9AntonioSubstituted forFornalsat 86'minutes

Substitutes

  • 3Cresswell
  • 8Fornals
  • 12Downes
  • 22Benrahma
  • 24Kehrer
  • 32Coventry
  • 35Randolph
  • 58Simon-Swyer
  • 72Mubama
Referee:
Andre Marriner
Attendance:
16,725

Match Stats

Home TeamBrentfordAway TeamWest Ham
Possession
Home59%
Away41%
Shots
Home10
Away9
Shots on Target
Home1
Away1
Corners
Home5
Away4
Fouls
Home6
Away8

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Brentford 0, West Ham United 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Brentford 0, West Ham United 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Yoane Wissa (Brentford) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Saman Ghoddos.

  4. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Ryan Trevitt replaces Ben Mee.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Nayef Aguerd.

  6. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Kevin Schade (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sergi Canós.

  7. Substitution

    Substitution, West Ham United. Flynn Downes replaces Lucas Paquetá.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, West Ham United. Pablo Fornals replaces Michail Antonio.

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Vitaly Janelt (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Mads Roerslev.

  10. Post update

    Attempt missed. Saïd Benrahma (West Ham United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high following a corner.

  11. Post update

    Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Ben Mee.

  12. Post update

    Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Angelo Ogbonna.

  13. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Rico Henry replaces Kristoffer Ajer.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Brentford. Sergi Canós replaces Mikkel Damsgaard.

  15. Goal!

    Goal! Brentford 0, West Ham United 1. Saïd Benrahma (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Declan Rice.

  16. Post update

    Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Mads Roerslev.

  17. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Saïd Benrahma.

  18. Booking

    Craig Dawson (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  19. Post update

    Kevin Schade (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  20. Post update

    Foul by Craig Dawson (West Ham United).

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258 comments

  • Comment posted by RMC 1964, at 19:28 7 Jan

    Please don't write that a win will be a "distraction" to West Ham. What a load of nonsense. A win can surely only ever be a good thing.

    • Reply posted by KingFreddy, at 19:55 7 Jan

      KingFreddy replied:
      Every round is worth more money to

  • Comment posted by sid, at 19:24 7 Jan

    Well done Hammers hope this a turning point

    • Reply posted by John, at 19:26 7 Jan

      John replied:
      We won the important one last week….you proved you can just about beat our reserves!!

  • Comment posted by Jack Regan, at 19:28 7 Jan

    If I was a Brentford fan I'd be furious. Why on earth make 7 changes? They aren't in a relegation battle and had the chance to progress. Poor from Frank.

    • Reply posted by Lets Agree To Disagree, at 19:32 7 Jan

      Lets Agree To Disagree replied:
      Perhaps, Brentford just didn't want any cup distractions this season and just want to concentrate on the league.

  • Comment posted by keldiamond, at 19:29 7 Jan

    Baby steps for West Ham at the moment. Even against a weak Brentford team, a win is a win & helps build some confidence. I hope, anyway.

    • Reply posted by solidsponge, at 23:44 7 Jan

      solidsponge replied:
      I must admit I don't understand why any footballer would lack confidence, with unlimited resources to help them, no money worries either. If they can't be confident in themselves how can anyone else.

  • Comment posted by SAW, at 19:34 7 Jan

    Unbeaten in 2023 ⚒️

    • Reply posted by Metro1962, at 19:37 7 Jan

      Metro1962 replied:
      not yet anyway lol

  • Comment posted by SAW, at 19:28 7 Jan

    Very average performance. But I’ll take it with glee😁⚒️

  • Comment posted by bob, at 19:31 7 Jan

    That will teach Brentford to field a reserve team. Respect the FA cup! A late xmas gift for the hammers.

    • Reply posted by YouKnowNothingAboutFootball, at 19:35 7 Jan

      YouKnowNothingAboutFootball replied:
      We have bigger priorities you can still need to save yourself from the drop. Plus we’ve keep Moyes in the job still 😂

  • Comment posted by craig, at 20:12 7 Jan

    As a West Ham fan I’d like to thank Thomas Frank for his selection, why when you’re not going to be relegated or finish top 6 do you rotate is beyond me but thank you

    • Reply posted by mark, at 23:25 7 Jan

      mark replied:
      You rotate to get minutes into players, live action, competitive play. It gives the manager a chance to look at some who would otherwise play every week but for whatever reason they don’t. These guys are not the under 21s, they are premier league players playing in a first team squad. It’s important to rotate doesn’t mean it’s the reserves or the b team coming out to play.

  • Comment posted by Heidi Deadlyblacktarantula, at 19:24 7 Jan

    Yes!,
    A win at last

    • Reply posted by Hells Teeth, at 19:31 7 Jan

      Hells Teeth replied:
      Hear hear! Wins for West Ham and my other team, Colchester Utd, today. I can sleep happy tonight .... without my usual nightmares!!!

  • Comment posted by SAW, at 19:31 7 Jan

    We've steadied the ship, now we can start to sail. COYI

    • Reply posted by Lets Agree To Disagree, at 19:33 7 Jan

      Lets Agree To Disagree replied:
      Beating Brentford B isn't exactly a good indicator of future performance.

  • Comment posted by Raedwulf, at 19:35 7 Jan

    Rotten conditions, rotten game, let's be fair. Nice strike for the winner. I suspect both clubs would have been happy at the start if you'd said "There will not be a replay".

  • Comment posted by Heisenberg, at 19:30 7 Jan

    That was a stinker but I'll take the win.

  • Comment posted by Occams Razor, at 19:42 7 Jan

    Keeper at fault for the goal. But at least Bennies shot was on target,

    Weak win.

    • Reply posted by SteveSDS, at 23:36 7 Jan

      SteveSDS replied:
      No such thing...

  • Comment posted by mchammer, at 20:01 7 Jan

    A win is a win. I’ll take that ⚒⚒⚒

  • Comment posted by Happyhammer, at 20:16 7 Jan

    Right come on today’s result for us is brilliant. At last we have beaten Brentford in a game of football. But…..what the heck does Downes have to do to get in the starting 11? I would love to know why Moyes doesn’t like Downes or Benrahama. I think both of them are excellent. I would start both of them all of the time.

  • Comment posted by KorBlimey Boris, at 19:24 7 Jan

    Well done Hammers!
    You can keep baby Beckham, we’re going to win the cup … and get 12th in the league.

    COYI

    • Reply posted by Lets Agree To Disagree, at 19:40 7 Jan

      Lets Agree To Disagree replied:
      Does West Ham have a strong enough squad to handle both a cup run snd a relegation battle?
      A deep cup run could be detrimental to Ham's survival chances.

  • Comment posted by Old Ham, at 19:30 7 Jan

    A good win to lighten the spirits. But let's not get carried away and think we've turned a corner. The players need to get confidence from this and move forward with a fighting spirit. COYI

  • Comment posted by U19603684, at 19:30 7 Jan

    Wow West Ham won!! Miracles do happen!!!

  • Comment posted by DJHammer, at 20:00 7 Jan

    Well played Bees, even your squad players are superbly coached and were competitive throughout. Hammers despite a few regulars never really got going, playing off the cuff, technically inferior with players of greater repute and pedigree, Franks team were better than our first team overall, I’m delighted with the result though.
    Momentum is gathering, onwards we go.
    Up the Hammers
    COYI

    • Reply posted by Jack Smith, at 22:11 7 Jan

      Jack Smith replied:
      Yeh I respect this I thought our team looked solid atleast in midfield but just didn’t have any cutting edge but didn’t mind going out as need to get more results in the league anyway and if benrahma has to come on and win it maybe he will feel bad enough to come back haha

  • Comment posted by London girl, at 19:27 7 Jan

    Good win

    • Reply posted by SteveSDS, at 23:37 7 Jan

      SteveSDS replied:
      :)

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