The manic second half of extra time of West Ham's 9-8 penalty victory over Everton was not simply a great advert for the FA Cup; it was a superb demonstration of why the replay needs to be abolished. It seems crude to say so after the fantastic spectacle that this replay eventually served up but, for a good 70 minutes, this was as sterile and dour an affair as any that you could imagine; much like the 90 minutes at Goodison Park a week previously.
That it sprang to life was not due to the nature of the replay itself but that of extra time, a lesser-spotted FA Cup beast due to the obligation of the re-arranged return fixture. It became an end-to-end epic in the final 15 minutes as the game stretched out, the midfield disappeared without a trace and left a chasm between attack and defence.
These scenarios, the bread and butter of cup competition in which teams play to attack and win rather than contain and defend, come disappointingly few and far between in this format at present. The replay is the insurance policy for the bigger teams, as well as another money-spinner for the smaller teams, but so rarely do they produce classics like this.
Allardyce noted that the match was "nothing like a Premier League game" and he was right, though his assertion that both teams went out and tried to win from the start went a little far beyond the realms of reality - but you can forgive him for that after the barnstorming finale.
"Unbelievable," he enthused to the press. "It's been a long time since I've experienced such highs and lows in one match, such excitement and end-to-end football. It was nothing like a Premier League game; both teams went out and tried to win it."
This was, ultimately, a breathless classic that had narrative and drama etched across it in equal measure. The Kevin Mirallas cameo was as good as any that you will ever see in a losing performance and yet it will be quickly forgotten. His free kick was sublime and his slalom into the box to assist Romelu Lukaku's goal was extraordinary.
Were that not enough, Aiden McGeady had already been sent off, West Ham team-mates Mark Noble and James Tomkins would later engage in a blazing row, the Hammers would be awarded a free kick just outside the box when they really should have had a penalty and Everton would share exactly the same feelings when Mirallas went down in the box, the assistant signalled for a foul and the referee acquiesced but only to award a dead-ball outside the area.
The dramatic shootout was only necessary, too, after the hosts plundered a late equaliser from an unlikely source, and then somehow kept the ball out of their own net following a goalmouth scramble.
Carlton Cole's late introduction by Allardyce felt like the final act of a desperate man, yet his leveller was as surprising as it was relieving for the Upton Park faithful - or perhaps not so faithful given some of the boos earlier in the evening.
Spare a thought for Joel Robles, too, who has been drafted into the side because of injury to Tim Howard and whose performances hitherto have not merited his temporary promotion becoming permanent. He pulled off a string of extraordinary saves, not least one-handed flicks of the wrist to deny James Collins and Kevin Nolan. Lady luck shone upon him early in the night but deserted him as his critical penalty crashed against the underside of the bar.
Adrian, a spectator for the most part and helpless for the two Everton goals, jumped at the chance to play the hero and took a run up for his penalty which started outside the area, before tossing away his gloves in an act of pure theatre as he charged into the 18 yard-box. It was a fitting finale to a chaotic cup tie.
That this game came after the first tie was initially played on a Tuesday night, a result of TV schedulers looking to extend the oft-heralded 'magic of the cup' beyond the arbitrary confines of a normal weekend, was quite revealing.
Detractors say that the FA Cup needs innovation to overcome its relic status in the modern game but, if anything, it needs decluttering and reverting to the premise of a flat knockout competition, similar in style to the League Cup. Without replays we would get more of these classic extra-time humdingers; how ironic that it was a replay which proved the point.
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 - Rating: 4.5
Description : An enthralling period of extra time, added to scattered incidents during the 90 minutes, made for a classic cup clash at Upton Park but was ...
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