Brentford's FA Cup campaign came to an end before it truly started on Saturday as West Ham United progressed to the fourth round with a 1-0 win.

Viewers will have been excused for turning their attention elsewhere at half-time after a monotonous first half, which's theme continued into the second but with a slight increase in tempo. 

Former Brentford fan-favourite Said Benrahma came off the visitor's bench in the 69th-minute and had the ultimate say, as his shot from distance dipped and swerved in the wind, leaving a flat-footed Thomas Strakosha helpless, with ten minutes to spare. 

Here are the key talking points from Saturday evening's clash at the Gtech Community Stadium. 

Rotation the cause of a cohesionless Bees

In the early stages of competitions, Thomas Frank tends to put faith in those that have seen limited minutes. Against West Ham it was no different as he made six changes from the win over Liverpool on Monday. 

Strakosha, Mads Bech, Kristoffer Ajer, Mikkel Damsgaard, Saman Ghoddos, and Keane Lewis-Potter all came in and it never clicked between them, even with Mathias Jensen orchestrating the play from deep. 

Ghoddos was used at left wing-back to give Henry a rest and, while he produced his standard 6/10 performance, he never tested Ben Johnson as he preferred to cut inside and play the safe pass. He combined with Damsgaard at times but the pair never threatened the Hammers' defence. 

Albeit Strakosha's first appearance since September, naivety was on show as his preference to be direct with his distribution, even without the presence of a tall player in attack, and an unwillingness to play through the opposition's attacking line hindered Brentford's build-up. 

Lewis-Potter was the brightest spark of the aforementioned, creating the Bees' best chance with a brilliant cross to Yoane Wissa, but he was never on the same wavelength as his strike partner. Both wanted to play off the shoulder of the defender and it made it easy for West Ham to deal with them. 

Kevin Schade's cameo a sign of his talent

Kevin Schade's cameo on his debut for the club as a 69th-minute substitute was one of the few positives of the evening. 

Signed from Freiburg on an initial six-month loan with a purchase obligation on Wednesday, the 21-year-old added a different dynamic to an attack severely lacking aerial presence and showed an immediate willingness to take on the defence. 

Craig Dawson learnt of his speed the hard way as Schade latched onto a loose ball and knocked it past the 32-year-old, leaving the experienced defender with no choice but to clip his legs and bring him down. A warm welcome to England, nonetheless.

Schade was getting into promising areas and there was a sense of optimism when the ball was near him. He had an opportunity to score when the ball fell to him inside the area, however his left-footed shot was deflected wide.

While it was a 20-minute cameo, there were signs in his performance that brought to light why the club is so willing to break their transfer record for him, even after a long injury lay-off. 

West Ham's 'eye-watering' display 

'It takes two to tango' - a well-known phrase that can be used in an array of contexts. I mention it because it took two below-par team performances to make a match so dull it could make an eye water.

Even with a near full strength side, the Hammers never looked like a team that could threaten Brentford, with it taking 80 minutes to get their first shot on target, albeit a match-winning one. 

The weather conditions did them no favours in the first half, with the wind and heavy rainfall in west London making it difficult, but with the weather on their side in the second, their persistence with the approach of launching balls into the area proved a waste.

Declan Rice was far from his best while Lucas Paqueta was as complacent as he was in the league meeting a week prior. Michail Antonio was an isolated figure in attack and Jarred Bowen was unable to take advantage of the left wing-back that was, in fact, an attacking midfielder. 

These factors made it difficult for Moyes' side to create much and there will be a growing concern that West Ham continue to lack offensive output. 

Hammers bailed out by super-sub Benrahma

As Benrahma retrieved the ball in the final third and fired a bullet of a shot into the net in front of the East Stand, there was an immense feeling of déjà vu.

It was a near carbon copy of a goal he scored at the same end during a pre-season friendly in July 2021 to earn West Ham a 1-0 win, and again it proved decisive. 

The Algerian, who perhaps should have started, was the creative outlet that supporters were crying out for as he showed a willingness to drive at Brentford's defence rather than force crosses in. 

A cup run has the potential to turn a season around and, if it does become the case for West Ham, people will be looking back at the 27-year-old's brilliance as a defining moment. 

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