Romain Perraud hits stunning strike as Southampton see off West Ham

Romain Perraud’s stunning first-half rocket lit up St Mary’s as Southampton marched into the FA Cup quarter-finals by dispatching Premier League rivals West Ham 3-1.

French full-back Perraud stylishly set Saints on course for victory with his first goal for the club, lashing home a swerving strike from more than 25 yards.

Michail Antonio briefly levelled for the Hammers but James Ward-Prowse’s penalty – awarded following VAR intervention – and a late Armando Broja goal sent the hosts through.

Ward-Prowse coolly converted from 12 yards with just over 20 minutes remaining after Craig Dawson was adjudged to have brought down substitute Broja as he bore down on goal.

David Moyes’ high-flying Hammers had little answer to falling behind for the second time and now have the remainder of the campaign to focus on chasing Europa League glory and Champions League qualification.

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl sprung a major surprise by making nine changes for the tie.

But the Austrian’s decisions were vindicated as the south-coast club – semi-finalists in 2018 and 2021 – impressively progressed to the last eight of the competition for the third time in five seasons.

Hasenhuttl admitted ahead of the game that he has been struggling to focus on his job since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, referring to football as “ridiculous” in comparison.

Players from both clubs have been directly affected, with West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko given time off due to the crisis in his homeland and the sister of injured Saints defender Lyanco among those forced to flee the conflict.

Yellow and blue lights – the colours of the Ukrainian flag – illuminated the stadium ahead of kick-off, accompanied by applause from around the ground.

Despite his in-form