Ralph Hasenhuttl raised eyebrows by ringing the changes and needed one of his first-choice picks to come off the bench and inspire Southampton into the quarter-finals.
‘Trust every player we have,’ he urged after introducing nine new faces for this fifth round tie.
But, regardless of the faith he may have in his back-ups, in attack few are as effective as rising starlet Armando Broja can be when he is the mood.
Romain Perraud celebrates after scoring the opening goal against West Ham United
Perraud found the net with a stunning swerving strike from outside the penalty area
The full-back puts his finger to his lips after breaking the deadlock in the first half
The young striker was when he came on and one half was all he needed for the latest display of his quality and to show why his list of admirers has grown throughout this season.
Beyond Southampton, who would love to keep the on-loan Chelsea striker, his suitors also included West Ham, even beforeWednesday night.
Broja gave Southampton the cutting edge they had been missing in the first half, despite the lead they held through Romain Perraud’s wonder-strike.
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His run in behind led to the foul from Craig Dawson which preceded James Ward-Prowse’s penalty and a bizarre mid-game pitch invasion.
And deep into time added on Broja jinked away from two West Ham defenders, dropped his shoulder as he danced past Kurt Zouma before finishing clinically again.
‘This is what a sub has to do,’ Hasenhuttl said at the end of a night that, eventually, all went to plan following his selection gamble.
‘Come on the pitch and have an impact on the game.
Against West Ham in the last game he was a big threat and this time it was the same.
‘After the two not so perfect games you can see it was a good performance.
‘I think he was a little bit angry after getting a kick in his face and if this is needed, he can have it.’
While Hasenhuttl’s line-up was a surprise, David Moyes’ determination to progress was evident in his.
He made just two alterations though Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko remained absent from action though he had returned to training after being granted compassionate leave due to Russia’s invasion of his homeland.
James Ward-Prowse celebrates after putting his side back in front in the second half
Ward-Prowse made no mistake from the penalty spot, going straight down the middle
His former international boss Andriy Shevchenko claimed Yarmolenko was on his way to Poland to collect his family who had managed to flee Ukraine though he trained yesterday and, as kick-off approached at St Mary’s, was still in the UK.
There was a show of solidarity from Southampton for Yarmolenko’s homeland, with their pre-match light show adapted and Ukraine’s yellow and blue colours beamed into the stadium while the message ‘we stand with Ukraine’ was displayed on the big screens.
Southampton’s injured defender Lyanco’s sister was also stranded in Ukraine at one stage and football has been difficult to focus on at both clubs.
The Englishman is congratulated by his team-mates after scoring his side’s second goal
Though, as Hasenhuttl said pre-match, this game represented a distraction from matters elsewhere, albeit it only a brief one.
West Ham started it well but failed to take their chances and fell behind against the run of play.
With Southampton struggling to breach West Ham’s defence, Perraud did not bother trying and smashed a stunning 30-yarder past Alphonse Areola to score his first Southampton goal, in style.
Southampton had been second best in every department bar the important one – the score-line – underlined by the half-time introductions of Broja and Stuart Armstrong.
Though West Ham pegged Southampton back through Michail Antonio’s first goal since New Years’s Day before Broja stamped his mark on the game.
And with the talented Albanian spearheading their attack Southampton will fancy their chances of at least matching last season’s achievement of reaching the semi-final.
Moyes said: ‘Disappointing. I do not know how many times we made the wrong choice in and around the box and it cost us tonight.’