Glenn Hoddle really didn’t have to think long when selecting his FA Cup fourth round Man of the Match; not after Crysencio Summerville stepped off the bench to save West Ham United’s blushes at Burton Albion.
It is never a great sign when a manager has to call upon his star man in a desperate attempt to break the deadlock against a team stuck in the League One relegation zone.
When Crysencio Summerville entered the fray at the Pirelli Stadium – he replaced Ollie Scarles with 83 minutes on the clock – West Ham United had barely tested Brad Collins in the Burton goal.
Hammers survive a scare in Staffordshire! 🏆 🫣
Which player were you most disappointed by? Vote here and tell us in the comments
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle watched a ‘passive’ Hammers go through the motions until Summerville, five minutes into extra time, darted infield and beat Collins with a heavily-deflected, looping effort from the edge of the box.
Glenn Hoddle raves about Crysencio Summerville impact as West Ham United beat Burton
So on a day of relatively few standout performers – the likes of Soungoutou Magassa and Adama Traore wasted the chance to secure themselves a more regular role in the team – there was only going to be one winner when Hoddle was asked to select his Man of the Match.
- Sign up for free here to tell us if you agree with Hoddle’s pick!
“It’s an excellent goal,” Hoddle said on TNT Sports. “I was just saying earlier that they need to get him into that penalty area. That’s where he’s dangerous. He was floating around the midfield area [after he came on], but when he’s facing the play and coming onto the ball, that’s where he’s dangerous.
“My word, he’s been the difference. We’ve been waiting for a bit of quality. A nice bit of strength, a nice bit of technique; it’s difficult to take that shot when he’s being pulled back and mauled a little bit.
“It’s been a game that hasn’t had much quality, but I’m going for the goalscorer. He’s come on and just shown a little bit of quality. The goal was excellent, a little bit fortunate, but he’s my Man of the Match.
“It was the way he picked the ball up wide left and cut inside. At the moment, he is the talisman for West Ham. He is dragging that team up at the moment.”
Summerville ‘unstoppable’ as Nuno Espirito Santo avoids an upset
Summerville emulated Jesse Lingard when he scored in a fifth successive Hammers match in last week’s 2-0 win at Burnley. That remarkable run ground to a halt against Manchester United on Tuesday, but the £30 million signing from Leeds did not need long to get back on the scoresheet.
“That’s what confidence does for any player,” Hoddle says, Summerville netting a sixth goal in his last seven matches on a day when his potential protege Keiber Lamadrid featured for the first time in English football.
So…what did you think? Give us your grading 👇
“You want the ball. When it’s not going so well for you, you shy away at times, but he just can’t get enough of the ball. I like him when he faces up. When he gets it with his back to goal, he’s not as efficient.
“That is where you want him, around the penalty area. That’s where he can use his talents.”
Post-match, Nuno used the word ‘unstoppable’ to describe the free-scoring Summerville. Well, ‘almost unstoppable’.
“We knew that [we might need him], especially after we thought we might go to extra time,” a relieved head coach smiled. “There were tired legs and we needed energy. Summerville helped us a lot.
“He’s doing a good job. He’s in a good moment. Forward players need this confidence, and he has that one-v-one [ability]. When he can use it in [these kinds of] spaces, he’s almost unstoppable.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
