LONDON (AP) — West Ham will face Leeds United in the FA Cup quarterfinals after beating Brentford 5-3 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes and extra time on Monday.
The tie was decided when stationary West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola saved Dango Ouattara’s woefully taken Panenka effort in the shootout.
His effort, the third of Brentford’s five, was the only penalty kick not converted.
The finale came at the end of a pulsating match that featured two goals apiece from West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and Brentford’s Igor Thiago.
A regular talisman for the Hammers, Bowen got the opener after 19 minutes when he reacted quickly to a loose ball in the box to slam it past ‘keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Thiago equalized for Brentford nine minutes later but West Ham was ahead again before halftime when Bowen coolly converted a penalty kick.
The second half failed to live up to the high standards set in the opening 45 minutes but another penalty decision proved key.
Thiago got his double from the spot with nine minutes remaining after Crysencio Summerville was adjudged to have pushed Michael Kayode. It was Thiago’s 20th goal of the season in all competitions.
The result means West Ham has needed extra time or penalties to win all three of it FA Cup ties thus far but that will bother neither the players nor coach Nuno Espirito Santos.
They can look forward to an enticing home game against Leeds, one of the two all-Premier League encounters. The other has Manchester City facing Liverpool on the weekend of April 4-5.
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