West Ham secured a 2-0 win over League One Hartlepool, but were made to battle all the way.
Behrami and Noble see Londoners through
West Ham secured a 2-0 win over League One Hartlepool, but were made to battle all the way by their less illustrious opponents.
The game was an open affair from start to finish, with goals from Valon Behrami and a Mark Noble penalty ultimately deciding the game just before half-time.
Hartlepool had their own chances to grab a goal with an early goal line clearance and a Gary Liddle header in the second-half, but in truth West Ham always looked dangerous on the attack and were fair value for their win.
The result means that Hartlepool will have to wait until next year to try and make their first ever fifth-round appearance, while West Ham fans may start to dream of a repeat of their run to the final in 2006.
Opening exchanges
West Ham began in fairly assured style in the North-East, but had skipper Scott Parker not been as alert in his role on the line, Michael Mackay's header from a Matty Robson corner might have crept inside the post for a dream Harlepool start.
Winger Andy Monkhouse, playing on the right instead of his more accustomed position on the left, twice cut inside to fire off target as he and fellow wide man Robson prospered to provide strikers Joel Porter and Mackay with some decent service.
Despite periods of dominance in possession, the Hammers struggled to create anything of note, and their frustration was summed up six minutes before the break when Cole lunged in at goalkeeper Arran Lee-Barrett to spark a melee which resulted in yellow cards for him and full-back Herita Ilunga.
However, his side finally made their mark as time ran down in the first half, taking the lead with 44 minutes gone after putting together a fluent move.
Behrami started the attack and eventually turned up on the end of it to fire home a left-foot shot after Jack Collison had made space for him inside the box.
Key decision
But if that was hard luck on the League One side, their fortunes were to take a further turn for the worse in injury time.
There was little doubt that Nelson handled Cole's flick-on, but despite the offence clearly taking place a yard outside the box, referee Mason pointed to the spot.
Noble needed no second invitation to blast the penalty past Lee-Barrett and rub salt into the wound.
Pools returned knowing their hopes were forlorn unless they swiftly reduced the deficit, but the Hammers might have killed off the tie within three minutes of the restart.
Lee-Barrett gratefully conceded a corner at his near post after Behrami had been allowed to run on to a loose ball inside the penalty area and cross, and James Collins might have done better with his header from the resulting corner.
The Londoners were coping comfortably as Hartlepool struggled to regain their momentum.
Pools chance
However, the result would have been in doubt once again with 62 minutes gone had it not been for Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green.
Midfielder Gary Liddle rose to meet Robson's driven cross from the left and powered a header towards goal, but Green threw out a hand to deflect his effort away.
The near-miss seemed to revive the home side and they once again started to dominate proceedings, although too often they were forced to go for goal from distance, to little real effect.
But Cole should really have cemented the win with 16 minutes remaining when he was played in by David di Michele.
He tried to slide his shot past Lee-Barrett, but the goalkeeper got a touch to deflect it on to the post, much to the delight of Cole's detractors behind the goal.
The home side battled valiantly to the whistle, but even the introduction of David Foley, the hero of the victory over Stoke, could not release the Hammers' stranglehold.
| Team Name |
Hartlepool United |
West Ham United |
| Possession |
43% |
57% |
| Goals |
0 |
2 |
| Shots On Target |
1 |
5 |
| Shots Off Target |
5 |
6 |
| Blocked Shots |
2 |
1 |
| Corners |
6 |
4 |
| Fouls Conceded |
15 |
10 |
| Offsides |
2 |
3 |
| Yellow Cards |
0 |
3 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
