LONDON - West Ham manager Alan Pardew said it was destiny for his side to beat Middlesbrough today and reach the FA Cup final against Liverpool.
West Ham striker Marlon Harewood rifled home the only goal in the 78th minute following a below-par performance by the east Londoners in the first half at Villa Park.
Sunday's win followed the death last week of former West Ham manager John Lyall, who had guided the club to FA Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1980. Lyall took over from Ron Greenwood, who won the FA Cup in 1964, and whose funeral Lyall attended in February.
"We've lost Ron and John, and the one little word I put in my notes today was that maybe it was our destiny to get there. And that was the word," Pardew told Sky Sports.
"To the families of Greenwood and Lyall, we did it for you."
As for the performance which sent his team into the final in Cardiff on May 13, Pardew said: "We were disappointed in the first half but the second half was what we are all about.
"We raised the tempo, caused problems for them and got the goal.
"The players turned it around and dug themselves out of a little hole and got a great win. It's a fantastic achievement for a promoted club and we look forward to the final."
As a Crystal Palace player, Pardew famously scored an extra-time winner when they beat Liverpool 4-3 in the 1990 semifinals of the Cup.
Boro manager Steve McClaren, whose side face another semifinal on Thursday against Steaua Bucharest in the Uefa Cup, was left to rue the squandered opportunities.
"We didn't score when we had the chances," he said. "We usually take them -- and today we didn't.
"It's not endeavour or character that let us down today, it was just the quality of the final ball, of the finish... West Ham hung in there and took their one opportunity."
Looking ahead to Europe, where they trail 0-1 after the first leg in Romania, McClaren said: "For 24 hours we'll be down about this result, there's nothing I can say that will cheer anyone up in that dressing room.
"Then Tuesday, we get on with the job. I said to them 'how you feel now, let's make sure we don't feel like that on Thursday".'
- REUTERS
Soccer: West Ham 'had destiny on their side'
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