Sunday 31 January 2016 13:55, UK
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic praised No 2 goalkeeper Darren Randolph for earning his side a replay after the goalless FA Cup fourth round draw at Liverpool.
Liverpool dominated the game after West Ham lost James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate to injury in the first half and the visitors were indebted to back-up goalkeeper Randolph for a string of saves, who came in for No 1 Adrian with the Spaniard awaiting the birth of his child.
Now Liverpool must travel to Upton Park for the replay, just as they did in the previous round against Exeter.
"Adrian flew this morning to Seville. His wife's baby delivery is due tomorrow and we wish him luck and for that to go smooth but Randy would have been in goal anyway," said Bilic.
"He was in goal against Wolves in the cup and we decided he would play against Liverpool and in the replay.
"Randy is great and deserved to be in goal and proved again he deserves it. He is the Republic of Ireland No 1 and because of him Ireland are in the European Championships so we have a great goalkeeper."
With more injuries added to his list - Tomkins had 13 stitches in a head wound and Kouyate was taken off as a precaution because of a groin problem - Bilic was also not that enamoured with an extra game.
"Nobody is crazy about the replays but we can live with that," he said. "We have injuries but make no mistake, we would have liked to be without the replay.
"We got the clean sheet and deserve the replay and now it will be one of those historic FA Cup nights at Upton Park.
"The first half it was a very even game, both clubs had some moments up front but not clear-cut chances, and in the second half until the last 10 minutes they were better than us.
"Maybe some people did not expect this Liverpool team to be so good but it was not a surprise to me."
