West Ham go with strongest line-up but Championship Bristol City hold them at bay

FA Cup Third Round

West Ham (1) 1 Bowen 4

Bristol City (0) 1 Conway 61

The plan was minimal fuss and certainly no replays getting in the way.

But David Moyes' very strong team selection could not overcome second tier Bristol City so the teams must do it all again at Ashton Gate next week..

The Scot came in for plenty of criticism when he chose a weaker side for the recent League Cup quarter-final at Liverpool and his team was duly put to the sword. There was no such muddled thinking this time as the Hammers looked to book themselves into the fourth round.

But the afternoon got complicated for the Irons, who, having taken a lead after just four minutes through Jarrod Bowen, could not put away the visitors, who responded with spirit, and, eventually, an equaliser on the hour.

The Hammers go off to flier, with Bowen rounding keeper Max O'Leary and slotting home after taking delivery of another of those sumptuous Lucas Paqueta chips which carried the hallmarks of an elite golfer's precision.

The pity for home fans was that the Brazilian soon had to leave the field after picking up a knock, but he had already made a significant contribution before making way for Divin Mubama.

There was another enforced change too by the break, with Konstantinos Mavropanos departing and Angelo Ogbonna deputising.

Roared on by 9,000 visiting fans, the Robins nearly drew level when Sam Bell jinked his way in from the right touchline past Emerson and Kurt Zouma before crashing a shot at Lukasz Fabianski.

But the Irons should have doubled their advantage when Pablo Fornals fired straight at O'Leary with the goal begging.

Other chances came their way. Emerson and Bowen combined to almost set up Tomas Soucek at the far post and only some desperate defending thwarted the Cech. James Ward-Prowse then almost profited from a headed clearance from former QPR defender Rob Dickie that fell nicely into his orbit.

But Dickie got in a header at a corner before the break to remind the hosts that the game was not quite done yet. Indeed it looked for all the world that Cameron Pring was going to fire in a back-post equaliser just before the hour, but the defender fired wide.

Then came the visitors' big moment, which followed a good passage of play from them. Joe Williams - the pick of City's midfielders - pinged the ball into space and Zouma was lagging behind his fellow defenders, playing striker Tommy Conway onside. The striker strode forward and finished confidently.

There was almost a late winner for the Irons after a goalmouth scramble following a corner but the Robins deserved a replay.

Hammers: (4-2-3-1) Fabianski - Coufal (Johnson 75), Zouma, Mavropanos (Ogbonna 39), Emerson - Soucek, Alvarez (Ings 75) - Lucas Paqueta (Mubama 14), Ward-Prowse, Fornals (Cornet 75) - Bowen

Robins:(4-2-3-1) O'Leary - Tanner, Vyner, Dickie, Pring - Williams, Gardner-Hickman (James 75) - Bell (Cornick 86), Knight, Mehmeti (Weimann 75) - Conway (Wells 80)