Alan Pardew saw two very different versions of West Ham United during their FA Cup defeat by Leeds; the one with Tomas Soucek and the one without Tomas Soucek.
Daniel Farke’s visitors held the Hammers in a vice-like grip during the opening 45 minutes, outnumbering Soungoutou Magassa and Freddie Potts while rendering Mateus Fernandes a frustrated spectator.
That all changed, however, when Nuno Espirito Santo introduced Tomas Soucek at the interval.
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While Nuno was without Crysencio Summerville and Konstantinos Mavropanos due to injury – Aaron Wan-Bissaka was missed too on the right-hand side – the last coach to guide West Ham United to an FA Cup final wishes Soucek had been involved from the off as well.
Alan Pardew lauds Tomas Soucek impact at West Ham United
Soucek made a massive difference after replacing the ineffective Freddie Potts. He cleared one goalline attempt with Alphonse Areola sprawling, and then rattled home his penalty in the shoot-out with typical professionalism.
“I just genuinely thought Soucek was so poorly missed in the first half,” Pardew tells talkSPORT. “Then in the second-half, when he came on, they looked a different team.
Tomas Soucek celebrates during West Ham United v Brentford - Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Dean Ashton fired West Ham to the FA Cup semis back in 2006, a feat no player since then has achieved.
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“I spoke to Dean Ashton at half-time during the game and we both agreed that it just needed more tempo, more of an attack and then a follow-up, you know? Like, to win the second ball and have another attack.
“They had a great period [after Soucek came on], West Ham. Unfortunately, they didn’t score at 1-0.”
Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Leeds 2-0 up during what Pardew feels was West Ham’s ‘best spell of the whole game’. Max Kilman was booed by sections of the London Stadium after clattering into Brenden Aaronson, albeit the Hammers would send a thrilling, three-hour encounter to extra-time when Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi scored in quick succession.
Nuno then had to rely upon Finlay Herrick – making his senior West Ham debut – due to an injury to Alphonse Areola.
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Despite his best efforts, Herrick denied Joel Piroe from 12 yards, West Ham would suffer the same fate as 2006, when Pardew was helpless to prevent Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina securing glory for Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.
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West Ham United's Spanish midfielder #17 Adama Traore (C) runs through the Leeds midfield during the English FA Cup quarter final football match between West Ham United and Leeds United at the London Stadium in east London on April 5, 2026.
“I mean, everybody thinks Steven Gerrard got the winning goal. He didn’t! It was just a goal equaliser,” Pardew recalls. “We should have won in extra time. We had better chances than Liverpool and, actually, just the penalties undid us, like the team today.
“I’ve got to be honest, if I was [Nuno], I would be coming out of that performance with a lot of positives. I actually thought West Ham, particularly after half-time, looked the better team. Offensively, I think they’ve got more to offer than Leeds. There’s a lot of confidence they can take from the game.
“But sometimes the momentum of the Cup can give you such a boost. I don’t expect Leeds to go down.”
Having also defeated the Hammers at Elland Road in October, Nuno will be desperate to avoid the most unwanted of hat-tricks when the two relegation-battlers go head-to-head on the final day.
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