All-Premier League fixtures at this stage of the FA Cup do little to evoke its romance, particularly when it has been a mere eight days since the two sides’ last meeting and, unsurprisingly, this was no classic.
With 11 minutes left on the clock here at the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford and West Ham seemed destined for a replay and a third meeting in three weeks until, mercifully, the maverick talent of Said Benrahma, well-loved by both sets of fans, stepped forward to settle the tie. The Algerian, a touch surprisingly left on the bench for the return to his former club, picked up the ball after Declan Rice’s fine challenge on Yoanne Wissa in midfield and fired brilliantly past Thomas Strakosha from range to earn David Moyes’ side a morale-boosting 1-0 victory.
The strike came from a not-dissimilar position to the one from which Benrahma scored a sensational parting gift of a goal for the Bees against Fulham on this ground before swapping west London for east back in 2020.
