Stockport 0 – 1 West Ham

West Ham will face Doncaster in the FA Cup fourth round after Craig Dawson spared his blushes to secure a 1-0 win over non-league Stockport under adverse conditions at Edgeley Park.

Dawson broke 83 minutes of valiant Stockport resistance, heading hard on a Jarrod Bowen cross, as the Hammers overcame soggy conditions to avoid being pulled into extra time by the NL team, which sits 86 spots below them. in the pyramid of English football.

Stockport, aided by conditions that hampered West Ham’s superiority on the ball, did a handful of things in his bid to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2001, but his last meeting with the Hammers was not to be repeated. . when they were removed from the League Cup in 1996.

West Ham’s reward for victory is a fourth-round draw at home with League One Doncaster Rovers, with the winner of that piece traveling to Manchester United or Liverpool in the fifth round.

How West Ham Avoid Surprise at the FA Cup

Stockport was largely camped in his own half early on and nearly fell behind when Said Benrahma hit the outside of the post, as he continued his wait for his first Hammers goal.

A fireworks display at one end of the stadium lit up a gloomy night, but the deafening noise briefly brought the game to a halt, and the visitors lacked a spark thereafter despite creating several chances.

Andriy Yarmolenko let fly from afar but missed the target, while West Ham freaked out when goalkeeper Darren Randolph launched a blow from a corner flew behind him, only for one of his own defenders to rescue him.

Tough conditions were summed up when Ben Hinchliffe threw a routine shot from Lanzini, though the Stockport keeper was grateful on the second attempt with no West Ham player being able to follow.

Lanzini’s effort from the edge of the box was the only of West Ham’s seven attempts to hit home in the first 45 minutes, though Antonio failed twice to make the most of the pass.

On the first occasion, Antonio was unable to cleanly pick up Yarmolenko’s precision ball down the middle and was then parried by Mark Kitching’s superb defiance on the last gasp as he prepared to shoot after Lanzini’s precise pass.

The field was becoming increasingly unpredictable, with the ball routinely stopping in shallow water, which was showing some leveler for Stockport, which was more of an attacking force after the interval.

After Connor Jennings saw his shot clearly cut off, Richie Bennett was introduced in place of the subdued Alex Reid and nearly had an impact, stripping Dawson’s last man, only for a wayward pass that ended the opportunity.

At the other end, Benrahma dodged a shot from a close angle after Hinchliffe slipped while trying to punch, while the Stockport janitor missed a shot attempt before using his feet to clear.

At this stage, West Ham was on the front foot, and a short corner was worked for Bowen, whose cross from the right was thrown into the net by Dawson when he finally broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute.

Stockport offered little to suggest that overtime might be at stake, as West Ham held out comfortably to set up a fourth-round draw against Doncaster.

Hammers stops another non-league team – Opta stats

• West Ham has progressed from its eight FA Cup qualifiers against non-league teams when they were a league team at the time.
• Stockport County has been eliminated from each of its last four FA Cup third round qualifiers, the last time it advanced in January 2001 against Preston North End.
• West Ham coach David Moyes has made progress in each of his four FA Cup qualifiers against non-league teams.
• Stockport has lost its last six FA Cup qualifiers to top-flight rivals, last knocking out a top team in January 1994 against QPR.
• West Ham’s Craig Dawson scored his first FA Cup goal since scoring Rochdale’s goal against FC United of Manchester in November 2010, 10 years and 67 days ago.

Whats Next?

Stockport hosts Notts County in the FA Trophy and West Ham hosts Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm.