No drama for West Ham as they comfortably subdue an under-strength Leeds

FA Cup Third Round

West Ham (1) 2 Lanzini 34, Bowen 90

Leeds United (0) 0

Manuel Lanzini’s first-half strike and a goal at the death from Jarrod Bowen guided West Ham into the fourth round – a win the Irons deserved, even though being far from at their best.

They created most of the chances and if the match was largely unremarkable, David Moyes was rewarded for fielding a strong starting line-up.

By comparison, Marcelo Bielsa, who brings Leeds back to this corner east London for a Premier League clash next week, had what looked to be a patched-up side. Injuries and an urge to rest key players presented a weaker hand than the home side.

That did not prevent a noisy away following from keeping the atmosphere nicely stoked, but their team, featuring two teenaged debutants in Lewis Bate and Leo Hjelde, lacked polish to match the hard running, even if they stayed in contention.

It soon seemed clear how the afternoon would probably unfold, with Bowen having a shot cleared off the line by Ayling and Michail Antonio’s deflected shot landing on the roof of the net.

But it was not until the 34th minute that the Irons went ahead – Lanzini lashing home after a goalmouth scramble which followed Nikola Vlasic being thwarted by some desperate defending from Hjelde.

There was a brief concern that on offside-looking Bowen had interfered with the goal, but VAR rubber-stamped the goal.

There was more worry when Antonio needed attention after stretching for a Ben Johnson cross that he could not quite convert, but the striker continued after a brief pause for the trainer.

Ryan Fredericks – given a rare start – almost bagged a second goal for the Hammers before the break after a neat exchange of passes with Bowen, but his final shot at Illan Meslier was tame.

At the start of the second half, a brilliant piece of bullying from Antonio presented Bowen with a clear opening, as the Hammers looked to seal the deal, but Meslier did well to block the goalbound effort with his legs.

Leeds seemed to adopt a shoot on sight policy, but the efforts were often from 30 yards and far from troublesome. Dan James probably missed their best chance, his close-range first-time hit flying over.

Fredericks flashed a low shot across the face of the Leeds goal, as West Ham searched for that second goal. It finally came when Bowen converted an Antonio pass in a breakaway.

Hammers: (4-2-3-1) Areola – Fredericks, Dawson, Diop, Johnson – Rice, Souckek – Bowen, Lanzini (Fornals 76), Vlasic (Masuaku 88) – Antonio (Yarmolenko 90). Subs not used: Randolph, Noble, Kral, Oko-Flex, Alese, Baptiste

Leeds: (4-2-3-1) Meslier – Ayling (Forshaw 60), Llorente, Hjelde (Summerville 78), Firpo (Drameh 69) – Bate (Dallas h/t), Koch – Harrison, Kilch, James – Greenwood (Raphinha h/t). Subs not used: Klaesson, McCarron, Jenkins, Moore