Given their inability to win a knockout tie in normal time, there can be little doubt of the physical impediment that West Ham’s continued prolonged endeavours in this season’s FA Cup must make to their efforts of remaining in the Premier League. But, with an eminently winnable home quarter-final against Leeds United now upcoming, the chance of a rare trip to Wembley is the type of happy distraction any relegation-threatened side can embrace.
For the third time in three FA Cup ties, the conventional 90 minutes were insufficient for Nuno Espírito Santo’s team to find a winner, with two goals apiece for Jarrod Bowen and Igor Thiago cancelling each other out.
Unlike the previous two occasions, they could not even settle this one in extra time, requiring a penalty shootout to see off Brentford. After Dango Ouattara missed his embarrassingly weak Panenka, Konstantinos Mavropanos eventually stepped up and rifled home for a 5-3 spot-kick triumph.
For rather different reasons, both sides could have been forgiven for focusing their efforts on their respective league endeavours, but a difference of approach appeared evident in their selected firepower for this Cup encounter.
Despite pushing for a first European campaign in Brentford’s history, via their league placing, Keith Andrews fielded close to the strongest team at his disposal. By contrast, most of West Ham’s leading lights began the evening in the London Stadium dugout as Nuno understandably opted to prioritise top-flight survival over knockout jeopardy. He had taken a similar approach in the previous round against lowly Burton Albion, only to call his heavy artillery off the bench to squeak past the League One club in extra time.
Crucially, he had his biggest gun on the pitch from the outset here. If West Ham do find themselves in the second tier next season, it is difficult to envisage Bowen remaining with them.
Little of his abundant majesty was required in his first-half double, just a simple knack of being in the right place at the right time, and following up from the penalty spot.
His first goal came after a recycled corner was delivered back into the box by Mateus Fernandes and nodded across goal, where the West Ham captain had peeled off his marker to prod home from a couple of yards.
The opportunity to score a second arose only after Andrew Madley had been sent to the pitchside monitor to inspect a Michael Kayode challenge that had sent Adama Traoré tumbling inside the Brentford penalty area. Little examination was required, given the clarity of the trip. Up stepped Bowen, who sent Caoimhín Kelleher the wrong way.
Between times, the high-flying visitors had located a deserved, but briefly held, parity. Nathan Collins’ firm header deflected off Igor Thiago’s midriff and past a hopelessly stricken Alphonse Areola.
Brentford more than played their part in a thoroughly entertaining opening half. They thought they might be awarded their own opportunity from the penalty spot when Kevin Schade went down under a Fernandes challenge, but the video assistant referee agreed with Madley that there was sufficient contact with the ball to outweigh the subsequent stamp on the German’s foot. It was a debatable decision, and Brentford were thankful to Kelleher for the deficit not growing before the break when he pulled off a wonderful save from a Tomas Soucek header in first-half injury time.
Given West Ham’s lead, it was something of a surprise – greeted with hearty enthusiasm from the home fans – that Traoré was replaced at the interval by Crysencio Summerville, a player whose value in east London has transformed since scoring seven times in 10 appearances prior to this outing.
Strutting around with the twinkling toes of a player who feels he can currently do no wrong, the Dutchman soon had Kelleher worried with a shot that deflected off Kayode and on to the roof of the Brentford goalkeeper’s net. Attempting to exploit the gaps created by Brentford’s search for a goal, Nuno then threw on Taty Castellanos, further boosting the hosts’ firepower.
So often the hero in recent times, Summerville was to prove the villain here, though, when he shoved Kayode as a cross headed in the Brentford defender’s direction inside the six-yard box. Madley awarded his second penalty of the night and Igor Thiago lashed it past Kelleher to restore parity.
West Ham came closest to finding an extra-time winner, Callum Wilson seeing his shot excellently saved, while Castellanos and Axel Disasi both went close from range. But only penalties could separate them.
