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Half-time reading:
HALF-TIME: West Ham United 2-1 Brentford
This is a really fun tussle, and I’d be shocked if it finishes 2-1.
45+5 min Henderson leaps for a high ball with Kante and, from quite some height, lands on his arm. That looked pretty sore, but after treatment he’s up and looks like he’ll be able to continue.
45+4 min West Ham win a free-kick on the right and Fernandes drills a terrific ball into the middle, Soucek lanking on to it to punish a downward header … which Kelleher tips away superbly.
45+3 min Scarles curls in a superb delivery and, at the back post, Soucek is up, heading hard … only for Kelleher to claw away from under the bar. The ball, though, hits Disasi who, six yards out, lets it drop then swings a foot to put his side 3-1 up …. only to connect with fresh air.
45+2 min Bowen looks to flick by Lewis-Potter and though the move doesn’t work out, he bundles through him to scavenge a corner.
45+1 min We’ll have six additional minutes.
45 min Brentford maintain pressure, earning another opportunity for Kayode to throw into the box. Again, Collins makes first contact, but this time Soucek is on-hand to clear.
44 min Outtara’s delivery is excellent too, the ball whipped in and well met by Collins, who flicks hard with his head. The effort looks goalbound too, but Scarles is well-placed to butt clear.
43 min Brentford again push forward, winning a corner down the right; the big lads come up from the back.
41 min The resultant corner comes to nowt. There’s been a terrific tempo to this half, which has flown by.
40 min …but it’s not a penalty. Fernandes got a decent touch on the ball, the contact which followed deemed inevitable. That’s excellent, sensible work from VAR, and no, I’ve not been hacked.
39 min VAR wants a look; I fear for West Ham…
39 min Damsgaaard checks in centrefield to send a lovely pass out to Outtara, who takes it on the right, cutting inside Scarles, who puts an arm on his shoulder but doesn’t quite do enough to concede the penalty. The ball, though, runs on to Schade, but Fernandes comes across to challenge … and is that a foul? I think he trod on his foot…
38 min Lewis-Potter weaves forward between three defenders and, just as he looks likely to run out of pitch, Walker-Peters considers sliding in, thinking better of it just in time. Decent run, but.
36 min That Henderson pass, by the way, was an absolute dog, played blind and with little purpose. I’m sure he’ll hold his hands up and all the other cliches that come with the exhibition leadership he enjoys.
GOAL! West Ham United 2-1 Brentford (Bowen pen 34)
Kellher moves right and Bowen, now on a hat-trick, rolls left. This is a decent contest.
PENALTY TO WEST HAM!
The ref sees what he must surely have seen in the first place – and if he didn’t why is he even there?
31 min Yup, to VAR we go, and this is going to be a penalty for West Ham, I’m certain … and yet.
30 min West Ham pump it downfield, Brentford half-clear, and Henderson, 25 yards from goal, cushions a pass … which Traore intercepts, moving into the box. So Kayode panics, trips him, and the ref waves play on, presumably relying on VAR to save him. The game proceeds.
29 min Nope, it’s a goal, and it belongs to Thiago not Collins. That’s 20 for the season for him; what a signing.
29 min Yes it did hit Thiago, but no he wasn’t offside – a man on the near side played him on. I can’t believe they’ll deem this handball.
29 min But Var wants a look: did the ball hit Thiago, if so was he offside, and if not, was it on the arm?
GOAL! West Ham United 1-1 Brentford (Collins 28)
This time, Kayode goes short, to Outtara, who shmies inside then twinkles outside Scarles, beaten far too easily. He stands up a cross and, with no pace on the ball, Collins has to severely crank his neck muscles, leaping backwards to head down and past Areola.
28 min Brentford win another throw in a dangerous position, this time down the right.
27 min Traore into Bowen, who turns nicely round the corner for Pablo, on the left of the box. He might hit it immediately, but instead checks and eventually concedes a free-kick.
26 min West Ham Almost-Reserves are better than Tottenham. As Olive would say, they’re not alone.
25 min Brentford win a throw down the left, Kayode swapping flanks to hurl it in. A West Ham head, though, makes first contact, then Yarmoliuk thrashes miles away form anywhere, so somewhere towards the stand behind the goal.
24 min I did, though, enjoy this very much.
23 min "“Just to carry on the Fulham-related theme,” begins Richard Hirst, “why do the words ‘Traore having let him go’ not surprise me in the least? If he was still at the Cottage he would definitely have been playing yesterday!”
When he was at Wolves, I was really excited to see the player he’d become. It’s a shame it’s not worked out like that because he was an original talent who had the potential to grow into something really interesting.
22 min Fernandes drives through midfield, sliding a pass into Walker-Peters’ stride … but the cross is a poor one. Still, though, West Ham sense opportunity, Bowen into Pablo who attempted roulette doesnae come off.
GOAL! West Ham United 1-0 Brentford (Bowen 20)
Bowen’s corner hits the first man but the clearance finds Fernandes, out on the right, who chops inside smoothly then curls a delectable cross into the middle. Soucek is up early, knocking down, and from a yard or two back, Bowen is first to react, poking home from a couple of yards. He has got to be the greatest Hammer of the last decade, at the same time as being an all-time great.
19 min Walker-Peters takes the ball nicely on the half-turn, finding Pablo, whose shot is blocked behind.
18 min Traore turns Kayode and bounces away from him, moving from out to in and opening a shooting lane. But from the edge, he drags wide what he manufactured into a reasonable opportunity.
16 min Brentford are the better team now, Kayode finding Outtara who turns the ball into space with the outside of his foot, chasing after it and, when Scarles comes over to challenge, sells him a bag of chips that isn’t there, feinting outside to move inside. Seeking Thiago, he stands up a cross, but Mavrapanos leaps to flick away.
13 min Kayode, by the way, is another player good enough for the highest level. Obviously you get the bonus of the throw-ins, but those aside, he can fill in on either side, is strong, has recovery pace, and isn’t scared to get forward. I’m excited to see how he develops.
11 min Schade wins a challenge in midfield and plays infield to Outtara, who hooks back to him. He espies Kayode marching forward from right-back, Traore having let him go, and this is a chance! But the shot is high-percentage, low and straight at Areola who, rather than let it through his legs, saves with his feet. Kayode really ought to have done better – he had the option of power or finesse and picked neither, instead finishing Lukaku-style, picking the option it’s hardest to mess up and, in the process, giving the keeper a chance when he might’ve had none.
8 min I mentioned him a moment ago, and I’m a big fan of Matheus Fernandes; I’d not be surprised if he was at a Champions League club next season. What I especially like about him is his excellence in all phases of midfield play: he’s press-resistant enough to take the ball off the defence, can carry or pass it through the middle, and has the vision to create in the final third. To what level he can do all of these remains to be seen, but he’s looking to contribute in all those aspects.
7 min The aforementioned away pyjamas.
5 min Fernandes spreads to Traore but puts too much on the pass, forcing his mate to let it hit his head. He chases back to recover it, though, only for brentford to move forward with Damsgaard. He squares to meet the stride of Henderson, arriving on to the ball just outside the box … and the rising shot flies a yard or two wide.
5 min Keane Lewis-Potter sounds more like a midfield three than a right-back.
3 min West Ham have made changes but they’re looking to get after it, Pablo wining possession inside his own half before finding Bowen and carrying his run on into the box; the return-pass has too much on it.
3 min The corner is cleared to the edge, where Scarles waves a foot, sending a shot high and wide.
2 min Now it’s West Ham with the long ball, finding Bowen in centrefield. He megs Lewis-Potter, ploughs forward, and hits a shot which is deflected behind.
1 min Ajer slings a long one over the top and Schade is on to it, left side of the box and allowing the ball ro drop before lashing over the bar.
1 min Brentford set us away. Given the side Nuno’s sent out, they’ll surely fancy themselves.
Our teams come out, Brentford wearing their away pyjamas.
Where is the game? Despite the changes, in Jarrod Bowen and Matheus Fernandes, West Ham have two game-changers in forward positions, and they’ll be expected to provide invention and counter-attacking threat, likewise Adam Traore.
Brentford, meanwhile, will look to Thiago to move about and run in behind if and when there’s space, with the full-backs pushing on to support the wingers, stretch the pitch and sling crosses into the box.
The winners tonight face Leeds at home for a semi-final spot. That’s a pretty nifty reward, especially with one of Liverpool and Man City disappearing.
“Fulham’s ‘nine changes’s aren’t really what they seem,” says Graham Leggit. “There were four changes for the previous game against West Ham earlier in the week, some switched back. Muniz, Chuckweze and Anderson are just back from injury and needed a start – theoretically against lower-league opposition should have been an ideal place. For the manager, a sense of urgency is probably difficult to maintain throughout a long season. From what I heard on the radio, despite having 24 shots, that was the main problem.”
Yeah, I saw the midweek changes, but the best players in the squad were left on the bench – I don’t think that can be challenged. Of course the side selected should still have beaten Soton at home, but it’s not easy to find cohesion in that situation, especially when the manager has effectively told his team he’s not that arsed but thinks they should win anyway.
As for Brentford, they make just three changes – Keith Andrews knows this is a chance. Rico Henry is injured, so drops out with Keane Lewis-Potter coming in; otherwise, Kristoffer Ajer and Yehor Yarmoliuk replace the rotated Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen.
Back to those teams, Nuno makes seven changes to the side which won at Fulham in midweek. In come Alphonse Areola, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ollie Scarles, Dinos Mavropanos, Mohamadou Kanté, Adama Traore and Pablo Felipe, with Mats Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaja, Jean-Clair Todibo, El-Hadji Diouf, Crysencio Summerville, Valentin Castellanos and Callum wilson dropping out.
Quarter-final draw
Southampton v Arsenal
Chelsea v Port Vale
Manchester City v Liverpool
West Ham or Brentford v Leeds United
Ties to be played on the weekend of 4th and 5th April 2026.
The teams
West Ham: Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Disasi, Scarles, Soucek, Kanté, Bowen, Fernandes, Traoré, Pablo
Subs: Herrick, Kilman, Summerville, Wilson, Castellanos, Magassa, Wan-Bissaka, Potts, Mayers
Brentford: Kelleher, Lewis-Potter, Collins, Ajer, Kayode, Henderson, Yarmolyuk, Schade, Damsgaard, Ouattara, Igor Thiago
Subs: Valdimarsson, Van den Berg, Pinnock, Jensen, Donovan, Furo, Bentt, Shield, Stephenson
Preamble
In 147 years of existence, Fulham have won the FA Cup a grand total of zero times. Currently, they sit 10th in the Premier League, well clear of relegation with a Conference League spot possible but unlikely.
But what has that to do with a game between West Ham and Brentford? Well, following the midweek round of fixtures, Marco Silva made nine changes to his team, behaviour more craven than the Cottage itself, and they duly lost at home to Southampton, their shot at glory gone – to what end?
It may be that Nuno Espírito Santo feels compelled to do similarly this evening, with West Ham stuck in a relegation ruckus – though it makes just as much sense that, after a fine away win, he seeks to sustain momentum. Keith Andrews, though, has no such aggravation, Brentford lying seventh in the table and in good enough form to think progress in the Cup will elevate rather than undermine their quest for a European spot.
Ultimately, football is about moments and memories, experiences that live forever and are passed down through generations. As guardians of their clubs, it is for managers to chase these, not refuse them fearful of their own inability to stave off subsequent unspecified misfortune; just ask Oliver Glasner, Brendan Rodgers of Roberto Martínez all of them now immortal after giving Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Wigan Athletic fans perhaps the greatest day of their lives. There are no reasons, only excuses; no prudence, only cowardice.
Kick-off: 7.30pm GMT
