#PL Stories- What #DavidMoyes said on WestHam’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United #WHUFC
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David Moyes
How did Issa Diop come to stay on the pitch and then need to come off at half-time?
We think he is fine. He bumped his head before half-time so I chose to take no risks and I took him off.
What was your overall view of the game?
I am really pleased with the performance the players put in. I wasn’t pleased in the first-half because I didn’t think we played well enough and we gave Manchester United too much respect and stayed off them. But the injuries forced us into a change and the changes helped us at half-time, I thought we played much better after that. I am coming away from Old Trafford disappointed that we didn’t at least get a chance to go to penalty kicks as I thought we warranted that. We had a really good claim for a penalty kick in the 92nd minute, which adds to another game where we have had no penalties, which we have not had all season.
What is the situation with Ogbonna and Yarmolenko’s injuries?Ogbonna has an ankle injury and Yarmolenko has opened up his knee ligaments a little bit so we will assess them tomorrow and hopefully they won’t be too bad. We have seen a little bit of a rise in injuries in the last few weeks.
How much did you miss Antonio’s energy in the final third?
We missed it in the first half, we didn’t have an awful lot to play off in the first half, but we got better at the start of the second half. Unfortunately, Yarmolenko had to come off injured which didn’t give us the chance to see if we could have done a bit better. We got a young player [Odubeko] into the game and I see that as a positive. It is part of football that you are always going to pick up injuries and as I said earlier we are seeing an increase in the amount of injuries at the moment because of the schedule.
How much of a miss will Angelo be?
Angelo will be a miss because he has played very well for us. He is a player who has been in the team every game for us, he is important to us.
I don’t think he is too bad, but I will have to wait and see. We have had four games in ten days and three in six days where we played Mick. If you’d have said we’ll get that out of him a month or so ago we’d have been thrilled about it so we are being careful with him.
Is he a concern for Sheffield United?
He is a concern as he didn’t play tonight. We will see how he gets on in the next few days.
What is the penalty incident you mentioned?
In the 90th minute, there was a block with his arm from Wan-Bissaka.
What did the referee say about not going to VAR for it?
I didn’t ask the ref, we just got on with it. I think if it had been earlier in the season he would have given it.
All of a sudden injuries seem to have caught up with you a little bit.
We have had no injuries all season, just Arthur [Masuaku] and Micky [Antonio] for a couple of months, but prior to that, we had very few. Tonight has taken its toll a little bit but with the amount of games, we have had to play it is very tough on the players. People are always talking about trying to play your strongest team in the cup, we have put out the strongest we had available to us in the main. We have gone with everybody and that [injuries] is what happens sometimes.
Will Diop be available for Sheffield United in regard to the protocols?
I can only tell you what the medical team have told me, he got a bump on his head and we just took no chances, there is nothing else to add. I hope there is no problem with it and I don’t think there is. Let’s hope that he is fine.
You took Odubeko off, but he still played 70 minutes
He played a long time in the game but I had an experienced player in Manuel Lanzini who I was trying to get into the side tonight and as the game went on and with the substitutions, I just did not have the opportunity to do so earlier. I am pleased the young player [Odubeko] got some minutes.
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