Bristol City deserved their replay at the very least, though just as worrying as this performance from West Ham was the sight of Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen limping down the tunnel.
Paqueta had set up Bowen to score a stylish opener within four minutes as the London Stadium expected an easy afternoon. It was anything but, as the Championship visitors totally dominated the second half with Tommy Conway securing the equaliser.
If West Ham had won this FA Cup third-round tie as expected, David Moyes’s plan was to gift his players a full week off, yet that incentive was not enough to stop Liam Manning’s underdogs from taking control.
Paqueta dropped down within 10 minutes, a worrying sight as West Ham know he would walk into any Premier League team on current form. Worse still, Bowen then fell to the floor in stoppage time, holding his left ankle as he needed helping to the changing rooms.
West Ham will wait to see what the scans say, but the way this afternoon unfolded left Moyes with a bitter taste in his mouth.
There were 62,500 inside the London Stadium as the refreshingly reasonable pricing of £10 for adults and £1 for children convinced families out on this chilly Sunday. Close to 9,000 travelled from Bristol and, taking up the entire Sir Trevor Brooking Stand, they hoped for FA Cup magic.
They saw some within four minutes but it came from Paqueta who, using his weaker right foot, floated a ball in behind into Bowen. The England forward controlled it beautifully before side-stepping Max O’Leary and firing through the legs of Cameron Pring to make it 1-0.
That assist was the only action we would see from Paqueta, who then dropped down injured. The Brazilian playmaker has been nursing a knee issue of late and West Ham can only hope it is nothing serious. Not having another game until January 21 will help, at least.
Divin Mubama replaced Paqueta. Moyes has turned to the 19-year-old several times this season over Danny Ings, but in truth, the academy talent has not taken his chances to impress. Some at the Premier League club feel Mubama would benefit from a loan elsewhere, but Moyes feels he is needed, particularly with Ings in talks over a potential move to Wolves.
City fired a warning when Sam Bell fooled Kurt Zouma by cutting inside, striking a shot which Lukasz Fabianski scrambled away. West Ham responded by flying forward as Bowen’s cut-back into the box deserved better than the blast from Pablo Fornals which was directly at O’Leary.
A flowing move by West Ham nearly resulted in an own goal by Pring – who says Moyes’ teams cannot play pretty football? – before James Ward-Prowse’s volley needed pushing wide by O’Leary. Adding to their injury issues, West Ham then lost Konstantinos Mavropanos after a heavy landing in a collision with Conway, for which the forward was booked.
When Rob Dickie’s header flew into Fabianski’s arms before the break, West Ham were relieved to still have their lead. City should have equalised in the second half when Jason Knight’s cross found Pring at the back post but he blasted wide as Vladimir Coufal closed him down.
The visitors were suddenly in complete control as Moyes consulted with his coaches in the technical area. While doing so, City made it 1-1. It started with a punishing pass from Joe Williams that bypassed Angelo Ogbonna, and ended with Conway finding the far corner beyond Fabianski.
Conway had been played on by Zouma, who was standing 10 yards deeper than any other defender for reasons only known to himself. The away end erupted, turning into a sea of limbs. In the 80th minute, they were celebrating again, though Conway was clearly offside this time.
On came Ings, Ben Johnson, and West Ham’s forgotten man Maxwel Cornet. The London Stadium thought Ings had scored in the 85th minute but he had in fact found the side-netting.
In stoppage time, Bowen dropped to the deck, holding his ankle. A bad day all around for West Ham, who now face a return to Bristol.