Anthony Martial grabbed a 1-1 draw for Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford which consequently saw Louis van Gaal’s men and West Ham United force a replay.
Aiming to bounce back from a midweek reverse at Anfield, United eventually found themselves on top against West Ham following Van Gaal’s decision to replace Marouane Fellaini with Bastian Schweinsteiger in the second half.
Emmanuel Emenike almost gave West Ham the lead in the sixth minute after a delicate pass over the top by Andy Carroll found the Nigerian international on the right side of the box, but he dragged wide.
A beautiful move opened up for the Hammers 18 minutes into the first half, but Emenike was unable to convert Mark Noble’s cross following a clever link-up exchange with talisman Dimitri Payet, whose contributions early on were limited.
Martial, shrugging off an early knock, went on a fine run down the left before finding Ander Herrera inside the box. The Spaniard’s volleyed effort drilled wide and although it took a deflection off Cresswell, neither referee or linesman awarded United a corner.
The 27th minute saw United’s greatest chance. Rojo played a one-two with Martial, whose return pass finds the Argentine on the byline before a squared ball finds Herrera — 15 yards from goal — and he sends his effort over the bar.
Marouane Fellaini was rightly booked just after the half-hour mark for a foul on Noble, who, seconds earlier, clattered Jesse Lingard in a tackle more deserving of a yellow card yet received no punishment.
Early in the second half, Herrera delivered a brilliant free-kick into the box finding Martial, who headed the ball off Rashford’s arm before deflecting off Angelo Ogbonna, resulting in a roar from the Stretford End pleading handball.
Another shout for handball was ignored moments later when Herrera’s shot at the edge of the box struck Reid’s leg before deflecting towards the West Ham defender’s arm.
West Ham will argue that they also deserved a penalty after Payet went down inside the box following alleged contact with Rojo. However, replays suggest the France international left his foot drag behind and Atkinson made the correct decision again.
A 68th-minute opener from a sensational Payet free-kick introduced a fevered edge to the game. He got it high over the wall prior to swerving it perfectly to beat De Gea before clattering off the inside of the post on its way into the net.
But with less than 10 minutes to go, Herrera stood up a wonderful cross beyond the far post, while Martial got in between defenders to hook a volley into the net from a considerably tight angle.
The result means both teams will play a replay before one book themselves a place in the FA Cup semi-final, at Wembley.
