On a night that saw West Ham take some kind of roundabout revenge for their FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool back in 2006, poor old James Collins, West Ham’s Welsh defender, found himself left hanging after a failed fist-bump with his boss Slaven Bilic.
Coming on as a sub, the 32-year-old former Aston Villa centre-half went to fist-bump Bilic, only for the Croatian coach to pull his hand away despite apparently initiating the whole thing. Anyway, Collins obviously wasn’t too heartbroken by the whole thing as it was he who posted the video on Instagram post-match…
As for the game itself, a fine goal from Michail Antonio was cancelled out by an even better one from Philippe Coutinho, who fooled the West Ham by firing a free-kick under the jumping defenders and into the back of the Hammers’ goal.
“@Michailantonio puts @whufc_official ahead!” Antonio puts the Hammers 1-0 up with a fine strike. ⚽️ #EmiratesFACup https://t.co/rd9qGbJip5
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) February 9, 2016
“He’s back with a goal!” @Phil_Coutinho marks his return to the @LFC side with a smart free-kick. 👏 #EmiratesFACup. https://t.co/QpgXQqyBEk
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) February 9, 2016
Christian Benteke once again failed to convert a number of very good chances while a returning Daniel Sturridge couldn’t break the deadlock for the Reds.
Then, in the final minutes of extra-time, up popped Italian defender Angelo Ogbonna to head home from a Dmitri Payet centre and send the Eastenders into the fifth round of the competition.
“It’s a glorious header!” @OgbonnaOfficial wins the game for @whufc_official in stoppage time of extra time. ⚽️ https://t.co/ZwdMh4oViC
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) February 9, 2016
Despite Jurgen Klopp’s decision to send out a mix-and-match side, the fact that it was the Merseysiders’ 40th game of the season so far highlights just what a slog it’s been for both the manager and his players. And it’s only February!
As for West Ham, they now face Blackburn Rovers in the last 16 on February 21st.