• Monday, 23 December 2024
Bristol City beat 10-man West Ham in FA Cup replay

Bristol City beat 10-man West Ham in FA Cup replay

Championship Bristol City upset 10-man West Ham to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round.

The winner came in the third minute with Tommy Conway intercepting a short pass from Konstantinos Mavropanos and rounding Lukasz Fabianski before composing himself and slotting home.

West Ham, who were without key trio Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus, struggled to create, coming closest when a Tomas Soucek effort was tipped over by Max O'Leary.

David Moyes' side were reduced to 10 men in the 51st minute when Said Benrahma saw red for kicking out at Joe Williams in retaliation after being fouled.

The game continued to have an edge after that, with Bristol City midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman fortunate to only see yellow after appearing to swing an arm at Aaron Cresswell, before shoving him in the chest twice.

The Robins will play Premier League Nottingham Forest or League One Blackpool, who meet in their third-round replay on Wednesday, in the fourth round on Friday, 26 January.

"It is a blow [to go out]," Moyes told BBC Sport.

"We would have liked to have been in the cup but we have Europe to look forward to in March and we are in a good position in the league, but we are disappointed to go out."

Moyes added he had "no problem" with Benrahma's red card, but added it was "amazing they call this one of the biggest cup competitions but we don't have VAR in all the games".

"The atmosphere was phenomenal," Bristol City boss Liam Manning told BBC Sport. "A special memory for me and the players.

"We showed real resilience, a good connection and level of organisation. At times it was challenging and we had to keep our emotions in check and we did a terrific job at that.

"I actually think we can improve and get a little bit better."

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