Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has showered praises on Scott McTominay following his extra-time winner against West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday.
The Red Devils put behind them a disappointing weekend, which saw victory ripped from their grasp with the last kick of the ball on Saturday.
Solskjaer’s men produced a positive response; far from that frustrating 3 – 3 Premier League draw against the Toffees.
McTominay scored in the 97th minute to send the Red Devils straight into the Quarter finals from Marcus Rashford’s fine lay-off.
“Of course going through is always the main thing in the cup,” said Solskjaer, who is looking for his first trophy in the Old Trafford hotseat.
“And for us bouncing back after the disappointing last kick of the ball the other day, so very pleased with the mentality, how they reset their attitude and we’re positive about going through.
“I think the players saw the game out really well. We are getting stronger and fitter.”
The Norwegian made six changes for Tuesday’s fifth-round tie, then made five substitutions to sway a tight game his side’s way.
McTominay was among those brought on in the second half and the academy graduate netted his seventh goal in 30 appearances this season.
“Scott has really, really developed that part of his game this season,” the United boss said, with this term’s tally as many as he had managed in his 84 other games for the club.
“Of course we let him go into the box more often, unleash him. He’s a very good striker of the ball and a very clinical finisher.
“As he was a forward or a striker in his younger days, you can see his authority when he gets a chance to finish.”
While United can look forward to the quarter-final draw, West Ham are left to focus on league matters after a night in which Moyes felt his side deserved more.
“I’m really pleased with the performance the players put in,” he said.
“I wasn’t pleased in the first half because I didn’t think we played well enough and we gave Manchester United too much respect and sat off them a little.
“But with injuries and different things it forced us into a change and the change helped us at half-time. I thought we played much better after that.
“Look, I’m coming away from Old Trafford disappointed that we didn’t at least get a chance to go to penalty kicks because I thought we’d just about warranted that.
“We had a really good claim for a penalty right on the 91st, 92nd minute (against Aaron Wan-Bissaka) but it adds to another game where we’ve had no penalty kicks, which we’ve not had all season.”
