**Nuno has led the Hammers to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 2022-23 season, but where did West Ham end up in other campaigns?**
In light of a victory against Burton, last night the Hammers were involved within the last 16 teams to be drawn out of the bowl, of which we were the penultimate number to be selected which resulted in us having a home draw against Maccelsfield or Brentford, but the Bees achieved victory through an own goal, leaving Round Five to be a Premier League tie.
In 2023/23, West Ham were knocked out of the FA Cup in Round Five against Manchester United 3-1 at Old Trafford, a damning loss after the Hammers took the lead through Said Benrahma and would be leading until an own goal by Aguerd in the 77th minute and from that point onwards, United would get another two.
Should West Ham beat Brentford in the next round of the FA Cup, it would mean Nuno’s side would participate in the quarter-finals, but do you know who West Ham last played at that stage of the competition? It was Manchester United. The Hammers last got to the quarter-finals in the 2015-16 season, which was the last FA Cup campaign at the Boylen Ground, which unfortunately also resulted in a loss… fortunately, Manchester United are already out of the FA Cup this year, that’s a positive!
There’s a handful of other dismal results and bizarre results that have caused Hammer fans pain, such as our exit to Aston Villa last season, 1-0 to West Brom, 4-2 to AFC Wimbledon, 2-0 to Wigan… the list is endless! I think it’s fair to say that in recent times we’ve had enough blunders from lower league sides or Top 6 sides.
To speak on Nuno briefly, the Portuguese manager will be looking to further his competition achievements as he’s previously taken both Wolves and Nottingham Forest to the FA Cup Semi-Finals. In the 2018/19 season, Wolves found themselves in a Semi-final against Watford and despite taking a 2-0 lead, they lost in extra time 3-2. Heartbreak would follow six years later as his Forest side lost 2-0 to Manchester City.
It’s fair to say that both West Ham and Nuno have had their individual heartbreaking moments in the FA Cup. I’m certain that the pair won’t want to experience anymore.