Martin Keown hailed Declan Rice on BBC Red Button (02/03, 20:14) for the improvements he saw in the West Ham United midfielder during their 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Southampton.
The Saints dumped the Hammers out of the competition on Wednesday night after James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja restored the St Mary’s side’s lead. Romain Perraud had put Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men ahead, but Michail Antonio would restore parity on the hour.
Antonio seized on an error by veteran goalkeeper Willy Caballero to end his personal goal drought. The Jamaica forward had failed to find the net over his last eight games across all competitions since scoring on New Year’s Day at Crystal Palace. He now has 10 this term.
But Southampton stopper Caballero would atone for his error to deny Craig Dawson’s West Ham’s second equaliser. The 40-year-old produced a key late save to stop the centre-half’s header as he sought to make amends for conceding the penalty Ward-Prowse converted.
Keown hails ‘improved’ Rice after impressing in West Ham defeat
West Ham had enjoyed a late chance to pull level at Southampton in the first-half of their FA Cup tie thanks to Rice and Antonio. The England midfielder produced a bursting run into the Saints area to set his striker up. But his attempt deflected to Caballero for an easy save.
Antonio picked the wrong option when he opted to shoot through a crowd of bodies in the hopes of equalising. But Rice’s run from the West Ham midfield into the Southampton box impressed Keown, with the Arsenal icon noting the gains he has noticed in the 23-year-old.
“Rice has improved,” Keown said. “He’s got really good pace and drives forward. People are comparing him to Steven Gerrard. He’s calm with his passing. He’s growing in stature.”
Rice captained West Ham in the FA Cup against Southampton in his 34th appearance of the season so far. But Antonio’s late first-half miss cost him a fifth assist of the campaign, while unable to add to his four goals for the term across all competitions – a personal best tally.
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