Manchester United are favourites to win the FA Cup after beating West Ham by two goals to one in the final ever FA Cup game to be played at the Boleyn Ground.
Manchester United is on course to win their first FA Cup trophy in over a decade after coming away from the Boleyn Ground with a surprising victory thanks in large part to the magnificence of Marcus Rashford and David De Gea.
West Ham was always a gall bladder stone for United throughout the Sir Alex Ferguson reign, but United would always march into West Ham as the favourites. Times have changed. The class of Dmitri Payet, the guile of Manuel Lanzini, and the control of Mark Noble means that these days it’s the Hammers who play the most adventurous football.
That didn’t happen tonight. Once again Louis van Gaal gave youth a chance and they didn’t disappoint. It was a hark back to the good old days with the trio of Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial plundering the front line – youth, pace, trickery, and in the 54th minute a goal of superlative quality from that man Rashford.
Martial slipped the ball to the 18-year old after an error by West Ham’s stand-in full-back Michail Antonio. There didn’t seem to be any danger for Darren Randolph in the West Ham goal as two defenders stood in the young man’s way. A shimmy to the left, a shimmy to the right, and a right foot curler hit the top corner of the net sending the away fans utterly barmy.
Only Arsenal has won more FA Cup titles than United, but they haven’t been on a run this desolate since the 1960s and 70s. That seemed likely to change after a tap in from Marouane Fellaini handed United a two-goal cushion in the 67th minute after some good work by Martial.
Slaven Bilic’s side don’t cave in. We saw that on the weekend against Arsenal, and we saw it again tonight. They burst forward at every opportunity after that second goal, and they were back in the game after an Andy Carroll header flashed across the box, found the head of James Tomkins, and ended up in the back of the net.
Wayne Rooney came off the bench with minutes remaining, De Gea pulled off his usual array of world class saves, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah was like a rock at the back. West Ham thought they had squeezed the match into extra time when Cheikhou Kouyate headed the ball into the net with seconds remaining, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
Can Louis van Gaal salvage something from a drab, dull, and dreary first season in charge and come away with an FA Cup triumph for the first time since 2004? Everton, Watford, and Crystal Palace stand in their way. I fancy their chances, and so do the bookies.
F.A Cup Winner Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Man Utd +135
Everton +250
Crystal Palace +400
Watford +400
FA Cup Semi Final Fixtures (at Wembley)
Man Utd v Everton (Sat, 23 April)
Crystal Palace v Watford (Sun, 24 April)
