Nuno holds on to belief that spirit shown by West Ham’s late FA Cup comeback outweighs exhaustion of extra-time

West Ham United 2 v Leeds United 2 (aet)

Leeds United win 4-2 on penalties

FA Cup

Sixth Round

Talking Points

By Kaz Mochlinski at the London Stadium

If you are going to have to go out of a cup competition then there is probably no better way for it to happen than the one that West Ham United experienced against Leeds United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

The Hammers had the consolation of a remarkable late fight-back from two goals down to take the tie into extra-time, showing a spirit which could be crucial in their struggle to escape relegation from the Premier League over the next few weeks.

They almost completed the quarter-final comeback with two goals in extra-time being ruled out (rightly) for offside, and they were only eliminated eventually in the dramatic lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

There could not even be too much anger aimed at the two players who missed their penalties for West Ham in Jarrod Bowen and Pablo, despite both being attackers and expected to calmly convert in front of goal.

Pablo is just 22 years old and is still settling in at West Ham after his January transfer, while Bowen is the club captain and has consistently been their best player again this season, unequivocally beloved by the whole fanbase.

Bowen also turned out twice for England in the international break, and so he may have felt the effects of a hard effort over more than 120 minutes of knock-out cup football to a greater extent than other players on the pitch.

But that will likewise be the biggest concern now among the West Ham faithful, that the team’s epic recovery in stoppage time at the end of the second half will have taken a toll in leaving tired legs ahead of the league run-in.

The Hammers can lift themselves out of the relegation places with a home win over the top flight’s bottom club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, but there is a turn-around of only five days between the matches, providing little time for recuperation.

The West Ham head coach, Nuno Espírito Santo, stated after the cup tie his strongly-held belief that the benefits of the spirit shown in getting back into the game will far outweigh the physical exhaustion involved.

“We prove to ourselves that we can never give up” insisted Nuno post-match, with his thoughts turning inevitably to the visit of Wolves. “The game is not done until the referee says so, and we have to take that into our future, starting on Friday.”

The lift operator providing the main connection between the tunnel area and the hospitality levels at the London Stadium was particularly delighted with how much better Crysencio Summerville was moving again as he returns to full fitness.

The player himself was naturally disappointed to have missed out on this Easter Sunday encounter between his current and former clubs, but he was very positive about his chances of being back for Wolves.

Ironically, Summerville had picked up his calf injury in the last round of the FA Cup, against Brentford. Along with him, West Ham hope to also again have Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo and Callum Wilson available.

Some supporters expressed the emotional view that they would even have perhaps preferred a first FA Cup victory since 1980 to staying in the Premier League, with lifting a prestigious trophy valued above mere survival in the elite division.

They still vividly remember how wonderful it felt to win the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023 under David Moyes. Just to get to Wembley once more for the FA Cup semi-finals would have been cherished.

Instead it will be Leeds who will finally end a wait of 39 years since their previous FA Cup semi-final in 1987. But how much worse would it have been for West Ham to secure a place at Wembley, only to then be beaten by Chelsea?

The potential misery of a big day out spoilt by defeat to one of their hated capital city rivals would have been far harder to come to terms with than the quarter-final drama - in which the ultimate result may have had another unexpected positive perspective.

Around half of the home supporters left the London Stadium before West Ham’s late lifeline. And they were then locked out of returning inside for extra-time. How devastated would they have all been if the Hammers had completed their comeback?

An all-time great moment in the club’s cup history, never to be forgotten, and thousands of fans always being reminded in future years that they were at the ground but outside and unable to see the epic climax themselves.

It is very rare, and yet sometimes it might actually be less painful to lose than to win…