West Ham United boss David Moyes admits he was taken aback by Romain Perraud’s stunner in Southampton’s 3-1 FA Cup triumph at St Mary’s, speaking to Football London.
How many times have you seen a defender line up a shot at goal, from some 30 yards out, and lash the most speculative of efforts miles over the crossbar and into a nearby car park? On this occasion, however, the ball ended up not in Row Z but in the back of Alphonse Areola’s net.
Perraud had never scored for Southampton before.
Not that you’d have guessed it, given the way his heat-seeking missile of a shot soared through the air and into the top corner on Wednesday night.
“We had chances to be in front and then went behind to a worldie of a goal,” Moyes sighs.
The defeat scuppers West Ham’s hopes of reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2016.
“I did not see that coming and it put us on the back foot a little bit.”
Can Southampton win the FA Cup?
West Ham did fight their way back into the game, Michail Antonio scoring for the first time since New Year’s Day after Willy Caballero flapped at a corner.
It was another of Southampton’s summer signings who delivered the fatal blow, however, Armando Broja coming off the bench to bamboozle both Craig Dawson and Kurt Zouma, winning a penalty off the former and then skinning the latter for his mesmerising stoppage-time winner.
“We just didn’t have any quality at all in the final third,” Moyes adds.
“Our build-up was fine, our football was quite good. We went behind to a worldie of a goal but every time we went near their goal it was like we were hitting a brick wall. We were so bad in and around their box. You need quality, and we certainly lacked it tonight.
“We gave away an unbelievably bad second goal which gave them the chance when it should never be the case. We were going to be the team on top, we were going to dominate it, and we gave it away.
“Daws should never have let Broja get anywhere near a chance to get in on goal. If you make a mistake and you’re in the wrong positioning, then you’re going to get caught out. That’s what we were.
“It was too easy.”
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