Dimitri Payet produced a virtuoso performance as West Ham fought back to ease into the FA Cup quarter-finals at Championship side Blackburn.The home team took the lead when right-back Ben Marshall tucked in a low shot.
Victor Moses’s equaliser squirmed in and Payet’s free-kick put West Ham ahead before Blackburn were reduced to 10 men by Chris Taylor’s red card.Emmanuel Emenike tapped in twice either side of Cheikhou Kouyate’s dismissal, then Payet added a superb solo goal.
West Ham have not won a major trophy for 36 years but, in their final season at the Boleyn Ground, are hoping that they can take the FA Cup with them to the Olympic Stadium.
Hammers manager Slaven Bilic has previously said he would rather win the trophy than finish in the Premier League top four, and he showed his intent by picking a near full-strength side against the Championship strugglers.
And, despite that brief early scare after Marshall’s opener, the visitors never looked like becoming the victim of a cup upset.
Backed by about 7,000 travelling supporters, they quickly grew into the game as their superior quality shone through.
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