Manchester United edge their way past West Ham and into the FA Cup quarter finals.

 Manchester United edge their way past West Ham and into the FA Cup quarter-finals. 

On a cold Manchester evening it almost felt as if somebody had taken the plug out of the electrical socket. The Stretford End at Old Trafford is surely one of the most intimidating of all sights for any opposition who dare to think that they can actually beat Manchester United. But without the volume turned right up to full decibel power and nothing but a hollow, cavernous feel about the ground, this was not the way FA Cup ties were meant to be. But we got there in the end and the better team eventually triumphed. 

Manchester United are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for another triumphal, record-breaking time and the visitors West Ham could only wonder whether it was worth the bother of turning up at all. For West Ham of course the good times are, quite uncharacteristically, rolling and after holding a top-six position at the top of the Premier League altitude sickness may not be quite the ailment they thought they were suffering from. 

Sadly though this was not the kind of match that will live long in any of our memories. Perhaps both teams were just creatively burnt out or maybe the sheer intensity of it all, had taken its toll on both sides. The fact is this was a shambles of a game, well-intentioned and well mannered but distinctly lacking in any kind of sparkle or glamour. Both Manchester United and West Ham United have both been natural entertainers at various times throughout their history but this game was lacking in slapstick and the kind of theatricality that normally accompanies both United and West Ham wherever they go. 

What we had here was an FA Cup tie that almost felt like a dress rehearsal for the main act, a curtain- raiser for something much more momentous. There was an air of deliberation and anti-climax about the contest that felt as if it were simply going through the motions. In fact truth be told it was lifeless, plodding, pedestrian and never really the FA Cup tie we thought we'd get. Both teams look pre-occupied with more pressing issues on their minds and simply distracted by the absence of any atmosphere. 

The last time these two teams met, an irascible and grumpy striker named Paolo De Canio slid the ball with the outside of his foot past Manchester United Fabian Barthez to ensure West Ham the only goal of the game and a place in the next round. When United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played his part as a United player in the 6-1 thrashing of West Ham several years before, United were already winning trophies galore, monopolising the Premier League title and also holding aloft FA Cups- not forgetting Champions League Final victories on two occasions.

But having waved farewell to three managers since the days of the Sir Alex Ferguson bejewelled reign, United are now back to where they were before Jose Mourinho almost ruined and polarised the whole of the United dressing room with his outrageously cautious tactics. Louis Van Gaal was the Dutch eccentric who thought he could change the attacking scenery but then found that a clip-board in his hands and an uncanny resemblance to somebody carrying out market research didn't advance his cause. 

So in came the highly recommended David Moyes and Manchester United thought they'd found the next Ferguson. But Moyes, still basking in the glow of his Everton years, could never emulate the feats of Ferguson even with the luxury of time on his side. United wanted success immediately and Moyes was just lost in a muddled jumble of thoughts that could never be translated into cups or trophies. 

There followed the barren years, years of re-building, intensive cosmetic surgery, that transitional phase when patience becomes the watchword. United fans are though, rather like most supporters, notoriously impatient and United's last FA Cup Wembley triumph was another convincing victory against Crystal Palace seven years ago. So it was back to the drawing board and here in 2021, United are touching base once again with Norwegian baby faced striking assassin Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as United boss this time. 

The 6-1 embarrassment United experienced against Spurs earlier on in the season would have meant the end of the world had the United fans been there to see it in all of its grotesquerie. Still, here we are in February and United are rubbing shoulders with the big boys once again. You still suspect that by the end of the season United will still be clutching at straws again but FA Cups and United somehow trip off the tongue very sweetly.

After West Ham were finally shown the exit door of this year's FA Cup, the critics may still be sharpening their pens and adjusting their laptops. United were still swinging, still flowing, models of elegance and effortlessness but for much of this FA Cup fifth round tie, it felt like a labour of love, a work in progress, an art gallery devoid of landscapes and portraits. United do like to put on an exhibition when the mood takes them but there were none of those breathless watercolours on display and besides it looked as if somebody had forgotten the easel.

For United, captain Harry Maguire, who seems to have put his private life into cold storage, was dominant, immovable at the back, a nuisance at set pieces and never really tested. The United academy of Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood were controlled and comfortable on the ball without really being effective. Greenwood could be Marcus Rashford's best buddy up-front, a striking liaison that could blossom in years to come if maturity really kicks in.  

With Aaron Wan Bissaka mopping up easily at full back and also lending useful presence in the United attack, United were in cruise control, joining together the building bricks of their methodical passing patterns as if they could have carried out the task blindfolded. United had so much possession of the ball that West Ham must have thought they were simply wasting their energy by trying to chase the ball. United were disciplined, patient and easy on the eye. West Ham were desperate for half time without letting in a goal before half time and you could hardly blame them for feeling that way.  

Then in the second half the increasingly adventurous Victor Lindelof combined tidily and imaginatively alongside Dutchman Donny Van De Beer with much sharper incisions into the West Ham defence. The scalpel was out and the now very distinguished-looking Nemanja Matic was finding the pockets of space between the West Ham back four that had hitherto been unavailable to United before then. Matic is a shrewd, worldly and experienced campaigner who loves a good, old fashioned scrap. 

But after the half time break West Ham, now driven forward by their canny captain Mark Noble and another impeccable defensive performance from Declan Rice, had grabbed Manchester United by the scruff of the neck and began to impose themselves as a genuine attacking force. Rice is turning into a very assured and versatile player for West Ham, capable of dropping back into the heart of defence and then carrying the ball forward without a care in the world. Some believe that the jury could still be out at the moment in the case of Rice as an England player but we may be able to tell more if the Euros go ahead this summer. 

By now Angelo Ogbonna, who had to come off with what looked to be a serious injury, Craig Dawson, the wisest of birds and Aaron Cresswell were rock solid, dependable and never afraid to show themselves on the full-back overlap. At this point the partnership between Pablo Fornals and the quite brilliant Tomas Soucek began to look a healthy and fruitful one. Fornals bustled forward busily, Soucek kept the ball sensibly and intelligently while Jarrod Bowen was always probing and scheming, cutting inside United's attack with a lovely turn of pace and quick-wittedness that gave hope and point to West Ham's attack.

And yet it wasn't really working for West Ham at any level. Their passing became sloppy and dishevelled, their movement too predictable for words and there was a lumpy stodginess about their football that looked terribly unco-ordinated. At times you could just about to work out some semblance of a cohesive attack when the ball was clipped between them precisely and within close proximity. Sadly though the Ukranian forward Andriy Yarmolenko began to look like a lost soul and trudged wearily around Old Trafford like a man stuck in treacle. 

As the match reached its conclusion you still felt as if the home side would have the last word and laugh on the matter. The winter snows were now falling on the green acres of Old Trafford and a chill had now eaten into West Ham's bones. After 90 minutes the two teams were still level and the ghosts of FA Cup past were hovering eerily around West Ham. Manchester United were still in complete charge of proceedings, Marcus Rashford sprinting directly towards the West Ham penalty area like a sleek red greyhound who bursts out of its trap and Anthony Martial providing similarly productive service. 

Deep into extra time United charged up their engines once again and the ball was paraded around the red shirts like a colourful float at the local street carnival. The passes were short, neat, permanently accurate, symmetrical and fluid. The game now seemed to set up camp in the West Ham half and United flooded forward at will sensing the inevitability of a goal. And then it simply appeared.

Halfway through the first half three Manchester United came haring out of defence, breaking together in unison, as Martial and Rashford stamped their foot on the accelerator and put on the after-burners. Now on the edge of the West Ham penalty area, Rashford quickly laid the ball off to the effervescent Scott Mctominay who, with the most enchanting of drag backs, found space to drill the ball low past West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Manchester United were into their latest FA Cup quarter-final and West Ham had no answer.

There is a school of thought which would have you believe that no team has a divine right to win Cups or any trophy for that matter. But the diamond-encrusted years of Sir Alex Ferguson now seem like a lifetime ago. Still, there are Manchester United fans who believe that happier times are just within reach for United and the FA Cup is still something to gaze fondly at when the going gets rough.  The Premier League is perhaps another vitally important consideration. First things first though, as they say.