Manchester United v West Ham: FA Cup fifth round – live!

119 min: Henderson tries to make things a little interesting with a daredevil dribble inside his own box, and gets away with it.

117 min: Keep-ball from United, before a pass from McTominay and a harmless shot at Fabianski by Martial.

114 min: West Ham are trying to exert some pressure … and a Johnson cross finds Benrahma, who flicks a header straight at Henderson. I think he was offside anyway. It’s the nearest thing they have really had to a chance all night.

112 min: West Ham sub the sub, Odubeko, for Lanzini. The youngster barely had a kick.

111 min: “Well, at least we can say that no live spectators suffered in the playing of this game. And hopefully everyone watching at home was wearing masks. Over their eyes,” writes Justin Kavanagh.

109 min: A West Ham move breaks down and Cavani charges into open space, but he sends Rashford too wide with a sloppy pass.

107 min: I think West Ham look pretty shot, so United just need to be sensible now.

Unless West Ham can salvage pens …

I’ll not lie, we could have all done with that goal coming a little bit earlier. But it was a decent drive from McTominay, who has now scored seven this season, so let’s drink the goodness in.

105 min: “Great ambition shown by Moyes with his plan for West Ham to score no goals and lose this game in extra time,” says Robert Speed.

103 min: From a very similar United attack to the one that eventually brought the goal, Fernandes uncharacteristically bodges a pass for Martial and it runs behind.

101 min: What do West Ham have left in the tank? Benrahma tries to play Soucek in but can’t quite find his man.

And … wow … a goal! A four-on-four counter from United, with the game becoming increasingly stretched, seems to have run adrift when a Fred cross is headed away. But Rashford nudges the ball into McTominay’s path with a deftness and subtlety quite out of step with the night, and the sub batters the ball low past Fabianski!

97 min: Amad Diallo is warming up. I’d like to see him get 15 minutes. That might lift this a bit.

95 min: United still making most of the running here, with West Ham possibly tiring a bit. Nobody will have wanted 120 here, not with this schedule.

93 min: Kari Tulinius writes in–

“This game is fascinatingly dull. It might even rival the infamous match between Switzerland and Ukraine in the 2nd round of the 2006 World Cup. I’m losing my will to live, but I also can’t tear my eyes away from this travesty.”

I watched that game in a fan park next to the old Olympic Stadium in Munich amid an absolutely *almighty* thunderstorm, so at least that was memorable.

United will bring on Telles and Williams at full-back for Shaw and Wan-Bissaka.

I have a possibly unpopular opinion, which is that – with some very notable exceptions – football has really not been very good at all since around early December. This hasn’t disabused me of the idea.

West Ham can’t quite do anything with the corner, so we are condemned.

90 min: Fabianski clutches a Telles cross. That’s it, that’s the update.

89 min: Benrahma is on for West Ham, replacing Fornals. But I fear we are doomed to an extra 30 minutes of possibly the dullest game I’ve seen all season – and look, I attended both Fulham-Brighton fixtures.

85 min: We’re up to first half-hour levels of Man Utd domination now, without a goal looking especially likely. Maybe this will jinx it.

82 min: Martial bullet-heads a decent Telles cross wide at the near post. Well wide, but still one of the more exciting and dynamic moments we’ve seen.

81 min: At least Fernandes looks bright, and he sees a shot deflected over. Contrast that with poor old Van de Beek. Will something happen from this corner? Not really.

79 min: This isn’t a very good advert for the 2020-21 football season, let’s be honest.

75 min: Fernandes instantly sprays a beautiful pass down the line for Greenwood, but United can’t quite fashion a shooting chance out of the resulting flurry and the rock-solid Dawson clears.

73 min: It comes to nothing, but here are two United subs. Van de Beek looks over to the touchline forlornly. He does indeed go off, and so does Matic – on come Fernandes and McTominay. Can someone *please* save us from extra time now?

70 min: Dawson does very well to fling himself across and head away a ball from Fred after a good run from the midfielder. I think Fernandes is readying himself, but not before this West Ham corner – which came after Henderson tipped over a skied clearance from his own man, Wan-Bissaka.

68 min: A 3 vs 3 break for West Ham but … ohhhh … Fornals fluffs the final pass when they had a player over, and Lindelof intervenes.

67 min: Fredericks takes on Telles and gets to the line, but his low cross is snicked away from Soucek.

66 min: “I feel Fred gets a bit more stick than he deserves,” offers Dean Kinsella. “Alright, he’s not the most creative midfielder but does a lot of the donkey work breaking up opponent’s attacks. Not glamorous but necessary especially against the tough hombres playing for the Hammers.”

64 min: A scruffy spell. And not exactly the first. One of those games that you’d quite like to get done and dusted but, at the same time, you want to go all the way to pens so at not to feel short-changed.

61 min: West Ham build the play well before Henderson claims Johnson’s cross. They have looked much more comfortable in the new system.

59 min: … which is scrappily cleared by United’s defence.

58 min: That good Rashford chance apart, little has happened yet in this half. West Ham aren’t sitting off quite at much as they were, though, and earn another corner …

55 min: And now, indeed, a fourth West Ham sub. Yarmolenko, who had been struggling, comes off and the young former United striker Ademipo Odubeko is on. Narrative incoming … ?

54 min: Best chance of the game there for Rashford, who is alone at the back post after a Greenwood cross evades Martial but faced rapidly by the excellent Fabianski, who spreads himself and blocks.

53 min: Incidentally, I think Diop’s replacement by Fredericks was as a concussion sub. So West Ham can use another.

51 min: It is snowing lightly at Old Trafford. Best thing that’s happened yet!

50 min: Johnson has started well down that left side and a strong run sees Maguire forced to cut out his low cross.

49 min: The longer this goes on, the more tempted Solsjkaer will be to haul on Fernandes and/or Cavani.

46 min: West Ham are now playing with a back three – or five, whichever way you look at it. Ryan Fredericks has also come on, replacing the replacement Diop, so he and Johnson will be wing-backs.

Man Utd kick off, after being left in the cold by West Ham for a fair few minutes, and we’re surely in for a better half this time. The visitors make a change – Ben Johnson on for Bowen.

The second half is three or four minutes away – don’t go anywhere …

There was a real live cupset earlier. Richard Jolly was at Burnley 0-2 Bournemouth for us:

Neil Carter writes: “Terrible game, just terrible. I have seen a fair few mediocre midfielders play for Man Utd over the last 40 years but Fred has to be up there as one of the most pointless. I just don’t get what he’s good at. Poor Donny, playing with him and Matic, devoid of confidence and lacking match fitness, I hope things improve for him he looks bewildered at times. Diallo on in the second half please!”

Not the best. West Ham lost Ogbonna early on, in the process of snuffing out a Martial chance, but otherwise a fine save by Fabianski from a deflected Lindelof header was the best of the action. The Hammers livened up in the final 10-15 minutes of the half without creating much. All to play for, and hopefully it opens up a bit.

45 min: Coufal blocks from Martial but Van de Beek, who teed him up, is offside. We’ll see three added minutes.

43 min: West Ham’s Good Spell continues, with one cross from the right going begging. No real chances created, but they have drawn United’s sting.

40 min: Rice bustles down the left but doesn’t see a potential pass to Yarmolenko and the ball ends up with Henderson. Better from West Ham in the last six or seven minutes though.

39 min: Martial is OK, I think. He’s rubbing his forehead but is up and about. Diop actually seemed the worst hit but looks set to carry on too.

38 min: It’s helped on at the near post and then Martial heads away *ever so bravely* from the onrushing Diop, taking a whack in the head for his trouble as they challenge. Both men go down. That was painful and this doesn’t look great. Is this going to be a concussion issue?

36 min: Bowen takes too long over a West Ham counter and Van de Beek – he’s playing! – pops back to sort him out. Moment later the Hammers earn a corner …

34 min: Nearly something for them there, though, Yarmolenko helping the ball through to Bowen. The forward would be in on goal if it wasn’t for a rapid recovery from Telles.