West Ham United will next visit Manchester United or third-tier Shrewsbury Town after crushing Championship side Blackburn Rovers 5-1 away – Dimitri Payet and Emmanuel Emenike scoring two goals apiece as both teams finished with 10 men.
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Referee Jon Moss produced a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity, but West Ham manager Slaven Bilic disagreed with the decision and signalled the club’s intention to appeal.
But they couldn’t get that second goal and when West Ham scored they got confidence and started playing.
It was the 1993/1994 season and it was certainly a resurgent Blackburn that West Ham United faced on April 27 as the Rovers came back from 1-0 down to defeat the Hammers 2-1.
Chelsea face a stiffer task in the next round away to Everton who they beat in the 2009 FA Cup final.
With City due to make the long flight to the Ukraine on Monday ahead of their Champions League last 16 first leg tie at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday, Pellegrini had pleaded with the FA not to bow to demands from television networks to move the Chelsea game from its original Saturday date.
“Every one of the goals were good and I think we deserved it. The fans were awesome too – they supported us all the way to the end and we’re pleased [for them]”. “He is also doing the dirty work and on the ball he is up there with Luka Modric from the players I have trained so far”, said Bilic.
Chelsea went ahead through Diego Costa’s 35th-minute header but City’s David Faupala equalised two minutes later.
Collins was an unused substitute the last time the Hammers reached the FA Cup final in 2006, when they lost to Liverpool on penalties after Steven Gerrard’s spectacular 90th-minute equaliser.
Emenike nearly completed his hat-trick but he could only rattle the outside of the post from close range, but Payet capped the victory with the goal of the game, as he skipped clear on the halfway line before surging to the edge of the area and slotting low past Steele in the dying seconds.
“I was pleased with that, and hopefully, there are more goals to come”. We’re going to have 11 games in 30 days, which is an very bad lot of football to play and keep everybody fit.
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“It was a tough opening 20 minutes, and it was what we expected from a proud club, but we got hold of the game and got back into it with a couple of bits of magic”.
