West Ham waste FA Cup chance after failing to capitalise on Southampton changes

Ahead of the trip to Southampton Michail Antonio had 36 games for club and country under his belt already this season. Had David Moyes decided to rest him at the start of a run of six games in 19 days there would have been few complaints.

As it was, the manager made it appearance number 37 for the striker, which considering his injury record in recent seasons was a bold call from the manager.

In past campaigns, Antonio has struggled with fitness issues but so far this term he has bar the odd niggle remained injury free, even if his form at times could have been reason to drop him.

The decision to start the striker paid off with the Jamaican international ending his six-game goal drought with a close-range effort, one that is sure to help his confidence ahead of a vital few weeks for West ham.

Despite being in training this week Andriy Yarmolenko was not included in the matchday 20 for the trip to Southampton. The Ukrainian international was understandably not in the team with Moyes confirming earlier in the week that there was no pressure on the 32-year-old to play and it would be his decision if he was in the right frame of mind to compete.

Ahead of the match St Mary's was lit up in the yellow and blue colours of the Ukrainian flag and there was a standing ovation from all corners of the stadium as a message of support was displayed on the screens at either end of the ground.

Yarmolenko would likely only have been on the bench for the Hammers and with his poor form this season is not a huge miss onfield but his absence form the West ham squad is a reminder there are more important things in life than football.

What he, his family and all of Ukraine are going through is unimaginable and certainly puts everything else