Blackburn 1
Marshall 20’
West Ham 5
Moses 26’, Payet 36’, 90’+2, Emenike 64’, 85’
Red cards Taylor 55' (Blackburn), Kouyate 75' (West Ham)
Man of the match Dimitri Payet (West Ham)
Dimitri Payet's name echoed around Ewood Park long before his shots nestled in Blackburn Rovers' net. He was serenaded before he celebrated. West Ham United's supporters had announced his arrival in Lancashire. By scoring two goals and making one more, the Frenchman duly ejected his hosts from the FA Cup.
Payet is cult hero and match-winner, statement signing and the best-paid player in West Ham’s history. He illustrated why he is all with three swings of his right boot. A game of six goals and two red cards was notable for one, transformative player. He inspires victories and tributes alike. “I have to get some poetry lessons to describe his importance to us,” manager Slaven Bilic said. His team, who had been trailing, cruised into the quarter-finals courtesy of Payet.
West Ham have gone 36 years without major silverware and an age-old criticism is that they have had style without sufficient substance. Payet, perhaps their favourite flair player since Paolo di Canio, offers both. His season has brought nine goals and eight assists, including the 120th-minute free-kick Angelo Ogbonna headed in for the fourth-round winner against Liverpool, plus a lucrative new deal. “On the ball, he is up there with Luka Modric from the players I have trained,” Bilic added.
He paid £10.7 million (Dh56.6m) for Payet. It ranks as a bargain. Blackburn used to raid foreign leagues intelligently for Premier League gems, but those days feel long gone. They are 19th in the Championship and they made five changes, more than West Ham. While the Darwen End was packed with 7,185 Londoners, other stands were sparsely populated.
It all made for an unexpected scoreline when Rovers led. While West Ham’s creator in chief had a roving brief, Blackburn’s most talented technician was their right-back. Ben Marshall is a winger masquerading as a full-back and has proved prolific in this FA Cup. His fourth goal was struck with precision from 20 yards.
It proved a false dawn for Rovers. West Ham’s equaliser was a doubly dreadful goal to concede. The Rovers defence backed off, allowing Victor Moses to shoot. Goalkeeper Jason Steele allowed a low drive to slip under him. “He should have saved it,” Blackburn manager Paul Lambert said.
A deficit was transformed into an advantage by Payet’s wonderfully whipped free-kick. Booked for conceding it, when he tugged Payet, Chris Taylor fouled a second goalscorer and was sent off for halting Moses.
“The sending off killed us,” Lambert added.
Blackburn were shambolic with 10 men, West Ham emphatic, even after Cheikhou Kouyate was dismissed for tripping Adam Henley. “We are going to appeal and we have a strong case,” Bilic added. Kouyate’s had been an eventful afternoon, with one goal disallowed before he centred for Emmanuel Emenike to have a tap in.
The Nigerian, who had been on loan at Al Ain, duly doubled his tally later after Payet’s defence-splitting pass. Emenike’s full debut brought his first Hammers goals but while he spurned the chance of a hat-trick, a Frenchman applied the coup de grace as Payet slalomed his way through to rifle in a fifth.
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