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Bowen demands West Ham continue 'raising the level' after reaching FA Cup quarters

  /  autty

Jarrod Bowen urged his West Ham team to "keep raising the level" after booking their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a shoot-out win over Brentford. 

Bowen and Brentford's Igor Thiago both scored doubles at London Stadium on Monday, with neither side able to find a winner after 120 minutes of action ended level at 2-2. 

Brentford were the first to blink in the shoot-out as Dango Ouattara's Panenka was saved by Alphonse Areola, with Konstantinos Mavropanos scoring the decisive spot-kick.

The Hammers have now qualified for their first FA Cup quarter-final since 2015-16, and it was largely down to Bowen's heroics that got his team over the line. 

Bowen now has nine goals in all competitions against Brentford (seven for West Ham, two for Hull City) – three more than he has scored against any other opponent in his career.

In addition, since Brentford became a Premier League side in 2021-22, no player has more goals in all competitions against the Bees than Bowen (seven, level with Phil Foden and Mohamed Salah).

But the England international was keen to stay away from personal praise, with his full focus on ensuring West Ham end a disappointing season on a high, with Nuno Espirito Santo's side still one point adrift of safety in the Premier League. 

"We haven't been good enough this season, but we are coming into the business end of it now, and we've got a big game coming up on Saturday [against Manchester City]," Bowen told TNT Sports. 

"We are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and things are on the up for us. We have to keep doing it, keep demanding it and keep raising the level."

West Ham's reward for their victory is a home tie against Leeds United in the last eight, with Daniel Farke's men progressing after a 3-0 win over Norwich City in round five. 

And Bowen acknowledged the difficulty his side will face in their quest to reach the semi-finals, having already lost to Leeds 2-1 in the Premier League back in October. 

"Leeds are a good side and will want to do well in the FA Cup as well," Bowen added. "But we saw here what we did at home against a Premier League side.

"We have two really big games before the international break that we want to go and get maximum points from.

"Now it's about rest, because 120 minutes isn't good for anyone. We go and rest, play at the weekend, then play Aston Villa and hopefully go into the break with two results."

Nuno echoed the thoughts of Bowen, and the West Ham boss is hopeful that this victory will be a solid foundation to build on ahead of taking on Premier League title chasers City at home.

"Now we have to rest knowing that Saturday we are going to face a tough one, but we are confident again in our stadium," Nuno added. 

"The boys are enjoying playing in the London Stadium, the atmosphere is good.

"Again we expect it to be a tough one but we want to compete and our situation requires the best of each one of us."

Related: West Ham United