West Ham Beat Brentford on Penalties to Reach FA Cup Quarter-Finals

West Ham United hosted Brentford in the Round of 16 of the FA Cup for a place in the quarter-finals.

The early stages of the game were dominated by West Ham United. The Hammers eventually took the lead in the 19th minute through their skipper Jarrod Bowen, who finished from close range with a left-footed shot that found the lower-right corner.

Nine minutes later, in the 28th minute, the Bees were level after a throw-in situation in which Nathan Collins headed the ball towards goal, but it eventually came off Brentford’s top scorer Igor Thiago and found its way into the net. The goal was eventually credited to Thiago.

In the 31st minute, Michael Kayode brought down West Ham’s Adama Traoré in the penalty area. The referee, Andy Madley, initially waved play on, but after a VAR intervention, the penalty was awarded to the Hammers.

Jarrod Bowen stepped up and made no mistake, sending Caoimhin Kelleher the wrong way to double his goal tally.

The second half started with little action but was offensively dominated by Brentford, as West Ham spent the majority of the half trying to defend their lead.

The Hammers ended the half with zero big chances created, showing their focus on protecting the advantage rather than extending it.

In the 80th minute, a penalty was awarded to the visitors after Summerville pushed Brentford’s Michael Kayode while attempting to defend a cross.

Summerville was booked for the foul, and Igor Thiago converted the penalty to add a second goal to his tally and send the game to extra time.

Extra time was filled with visible player exhaustion.

However, the home side West Ham dominated much of the additional 30 minutes but struggled to convert their control into clear-cut chances.

The penalty shootout saw both teams trading successful spot-kicks early on.

Valentín Castellanos gave the Hammers the lead, but Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara became the only player to miss, attempting a Panenka that went straight at Alphonse Areola.

Callum Wilson, Lewis-Potter, Tomáš Souček, and Mathias Jensen all converted their penalties.

Finally, Konstantinos Mavropanos stepped up and calmly converted the decisive penalty, sending West Ham United into the FA Cup quarter-finals, where they will host Leeds United.