West Ham scored early and late against Birmingham to edge past a tough Championship team in the third round of the FA Cup. It was Lee Camps error which led to Marco Arnautovic to open the scoring. Arnautovics 20th-minute replacement, Andy Carroll finished off the plucky Blues in the 90th minute with a classic Andy Carroll goal, finishing from a deep cross to the far post from his head.
It was a difficult game for the Hammers despite their quick start. Gary Monks men grew into the game, and proved worthy challengers at the London Stadium. Silvas sharpness inside the box forced a corner in the first minute of the game. This lead to West Hams opening goal when goalkeeper Lee Camp flapped at a soft header from Ogbonna, pushing the ball into the middle of the goal and right onto Arnautovics head. It was his ninth goal of the season and made him West Hams joint top goalscorer.
The temperamental Austrian and Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini seemed to have a disagreement when the goalscorer was subbed in the 20th minute with a slight back injury. Pellegrini however will be buoyed to have the injury-plagued Andy Carroll come through a 70-minute spell on the pitch. The substitute scored his first goal since April in the 90th minute, along with making a goal-line clearance in the first half and hitting the crossbar. He even missed a gilt-edged opportunity when he mis-controlled an attempt to take the ball around the Blues goalkeeper.
The teams
It was a 4-3-3 for a West Ham side who lacked leadership at times without Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta. Boss Pellegrini will be pleased to see recent arrival Samir Nasri get through almost 60 minutes of competitive action after serving an 18-month doping ban.
Nasri played alongside the impressive young talent of Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang in a midfield three for the Hammers. Twenty-one-year-old Silva and 20-year-old Diangana played out wide, while Arnautovic got through 20 minutes before being replaced by Andy Carroll.
Adrian replaced the impressive former
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