By grace of Martial, Van Gaal clings – to FA Cup, to Manchester United and to hope of glory

Anthony Martial’s well-taken equaliser may have merely delayed United’s FA Cup exit. Or it may yet acquire a greater significance. In the short-term, it stemmed the bleeding, Richard Jolly writes from Old Trafford.

Anthony Martial of Manchester United celebrates after scoring on Sunday against West Ham United in his team's FA Cup tie. Michael Regan / Getty Images / March 13, 2016
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FA Cup quarter-final

Manchester United 1 West Ham 1

Manchester United Martial 83'

West Ham Payet 68'

Louis van Gaal clings on. To his place in the FA Cup, to the hope that he can salvage something from this sorriest of seasons, to the thought of silverware and the chance of continued employment.

Anthony Martial's well-taken equaliser may have merely delayed Manchester United's FA Cup exit. Or it may yet acquire a greater significance. In the short-term, it stemmed the bleeding.

A week and three games into a 15-day spell that threatens to define not just their season, but Van Gaal's reign, they trailed West Ham to Dimitri Payet's perfectly-struck free kick.

A third successive defeat beckoned, one which, given the probability of a Europa League exit on Thursday, would have amplified the pressure on Van Gaal ahead of the Manchester derby.

Instead, there is a tantalising glimpse of respite, the prospect the Dutchman could again be branded a serial winner. This was a weekend when first Arsenal and then Chelsea, the two likeliest winners, were expelled from the FA Cup. United remain in it: not convincingly and somewhat controversially, but there all the same.

“We are still in three competitions,” said Van Gaal.

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West Ham argued that Bastian Schweinsteiger was fouling Darren Randolph as Martial levelled. If they can take succour from the result, it lies in the prospect of a final FA Cup tie at Upton Park.

West Ham will leave their historic home for the Olympic Stadium next season. United will visit it again in April for a replay. “I fancy us,” manager Slaven Bilic said bullishly.

It is not merely the fact that West Ham will have home advantage that should render them favourites. They were the more accomplished side and boasted, in Payet, the game’s outstanding player. His goal was taken beautifully.

“He scored a similar one in the warm-up,” added Bilic. United have spent more than a quarter of a billion pounds under Van Gaal without recruiting a technician of such class.

While West Ham used Payet as a playmaker, United had a rudimentary style of play that consisted of aiming at Marouane Fellaini. It scarcely met with approval.

Cheers greeted Fellaini’s substitution, boos Marcus Rashford’s exit. The teenager has acquired popularity swiftly while the Belgian has become an object of derision again.

A symbol of the unlikely way Van Gaal regenerated United last spring, he has now reverted to the cumbersome misfit who struggled in his maiden season at Old Trafford. Picked against Liverpool and West Ham because he boasted a record of unsettling both, he floundered in each match.

“I think Fellaini played again a good match,” said Van Gaal, a viewpoint that put him in a minority.

His reshuffle met with a mixed reaction. He was entitled to argue it was a factor in the fightback. Bastian Schweinsteiger came on to exert an influence in his cameo, the German trying to rouse the Stretford End with gestures to supporters just as he looked to add urgency to a distinctly flat display.

“He did fantastically,” said Van Gaal. Meanwhile, Martial was moved from the left flank to take over from Rashford in attack.

And in his second position of the day, he excelled to stretch and hook in Ander Herrera’s deep cross; in a season of few highlights, the Frenchman has provided some. He, like Payet, has now scored 11 times for his new club. One has permitted progress, the other fought to alleviate regression.

A draw, Van Gaal, felt was proof of “amazing spirit”. He was buoyed himself, telling his injured players that they can grace Wembley’s turf and secure silverware. “I have said to Wayne Rooney, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young that they can play the final.”

While the hope of glory remains, he clings on to it.

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