Forget Diop: WHU liability with 40 touches must've just played his last game for Moyes - opinion

David Moyes’ West Ham United side secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with what can only be described as an embarrassing 2-1 victory against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers after extra time on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, a 91st-minute Declan Rice strike levelled the tie with essentially the last kick of normal time after Alex Penny had given the hosts a well-deserved lead in the first half. Jarrod Bowen then replicated his team-mate’s feat in extra time, with the 25-year-old’s 121st-minute winner with what was practically the last kick of the game just about enough to get the Hammers over the line.

However, as is to be expected after such a narrow victory against a team 113 places below them in the English football pyramid, a number of Irons players turned in extremely underwhelming performances against their non-league opponents. Issa Diop, who was hooked at half-time; Nikola Vlasic, who spent the afternoon in Penny’s pocket; and Andriy Yarmolenko, who yet again offered nothing going forwards, were arguably the worst of a bad bunch.

While both Diop and Vlasic will certainly be hoping to put their displays behind them as quickly as possible, it was Yarmolenko’s disasterclass which stood out the most this afternoon. The 32-year-old’s performance on the right wing was undoubtedly one of his worst in his time with West Ham, which is saying something in itself given his atrocious season so far.

While it is true that the forward’s wayward strike ultimately led to Aaron Cresswell squaring the ball for Bowen to tap home the last-gasp winner, this was certainly not a conscious decision, although it was the only thing of note that the £100k-per-week Ukrainian offered his team at Aggborough