West Ham United clashed heads with Kidderminster Harriers at the Aggborough Stadium earlier today as they hoped to win and keep their FA Cup dreams alive. The Hammers made a sloppy start to the contest as they conceded the opening goal in the 19th minute when Alex Penny capitalized on some poor West Ham defending and found the back of the net. David Moyes’ men failed to come up with a response and went into the half-time break 1-0 down on the scoreline.
Declan Rice came off the bench and equalised for the Hammers in injury-time which took the game to extra-time. Jarrod Bowen ended up netting the winning goal in the dying embers of extra-time via a tap-in which gave West Ham a hard-fought 2-1 victory on the road.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player fared during the clash against Kidderminster Harriers.
GK: Alphonse Areola – 6.5/10
He made a few important saves during the game but will be disappointed for conceding a goal in the first half.
RB: Ryan Fredericks – 6/10
Fredericks made a couple of solid tackles but was mostly unimpressive today.
CB: Issa Diop – 6/10
He failed to keep a clean sheet in the first half and got substituted at half-time.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 6.5/10
Zouma cleared the danger when needed and did enough to restrict the opposition from scoring more than once.
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LB: Ben Johnson – 7/10
He kept a solid shape at the back and made one good run down the left flank.
CM: Alex Kral – 6/10
Kral failed to get a foothold in the game and produced an uninspiring display in the first half. He got replaced after 45 minutes.
CM: Mark Noble – 6/10
The veteran midfielder engineered two good chances for his teammates but ran out of gas and got substituted after the hour mark.
RW: Andriy Yarmolenko – 6.5/10
Yarmolenko caused a few headaches for the opposition but didn’t do enough to get his name on the scoresheet.
CAM: Said Benrahma – 7.5/10
He was a constant menace in the opponent’s half as he caused a lot of problems with his creativity and running.
LW: Nikola Vlasic – 6/10
Vlasic put in a lackluster display in the final third and never got a sniff at goal.
ST: Jarrod Bowen – 8/10
Bowen failed to find the back of the net during the 90 minutes. However, he kept pushing and ended up netting the winner in the dying moments of extra time.
Substitutes:
CB: Craig Dawson – 6.5/10
Dawson used his experience well and kept the opposition at bay during his time on the field.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10
The England international completely changed the game after coming off the bench and scored the all-important equaliser in injury-time which kept West Ham in the FA Cup.
LM: Aaron Cresswell – 8/10
He got stuck in with multiple tackles and has also got an assist to show for his efforts.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 7/10
Soucek gave West Ham more control at the centre of the park.
CAM: Pablo Fornals – 7/10
The Spaniard ended the game with an assist to his name.
