Diafra Sakho strikes late as West Ham see off Bristol City

Diafra Sakho struck a late winner as West Ham survived some early scares to book their place in round five of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Bristol City.

The Senegalese hitman came off the bench to guide home Andy Carroll's cross nine minutes from time after Steve Cotterill's men had made a vibrant start.

The League One side are gunning for promotion this season and played with a swagger that begged the question which team was from the top-flight.

On another afternoon they would have taken a Premier League scalp as the ever-dangerous Matt Smith twice saw goal-bound headers cleared off the line.

But the away side managed to claw their way back into it and in a more even second period, Sakho skimmed the bar with a looping volley before heading in his 10th of the season to keep Big Sam's hopes of a Wembley appearance alive.

PRE-MATCH: Strong Hammers line-up. Bristol City opt for a 3-5-2 system and make two changes to the side that defeated Scunthorpe 2-0 last time out. Mark Little and George Saville come in to the midfield with Smith and Emmanuel-Thomas a real threat up top. As for West Ham they field a strong starting XI, with one enforced change from their 3-0 victory over Hull seeing Winston Reid replace the injured James Collins.

6' - BRISTOL CITY CHANCE! - Mark Noble is forced to clear off the line from Smith after the Hammers had failed to deal with a left-wing corner.

20'- SO CLOSE! Joe Bryan powers into the left side of the area after exchanging a lovely one-two with Emmanuel-Thomas, but drills his low effort just past the far post.

24' - OFF THE LINE! Andy Carroll is forced to nod away Smith's thumping header from Emmanuel-Thomas' delicious right-wing centre. That's the second time the Hammers have had to clear form under their own crossbar.

38' - WEST HAM CHANCE! - Jenkinson fizzes a cracking ball in from the right for Carroll who meets it with a flicked attempt that flies straight at Fielding. Good move from the visitors.

61' - WEST HAM CHANCE! - A superb run from Downing sees him race from right to left, exchange a one-two with Carroll and crash a 20-yard drive over the top.

69' - BRISTOL CITY CHANCE! Smith powers a header over the crossbar after rising well to meet Bryan's left-wing cross. The striker should have done better there.

74' - OFF THE BAR! Sakho races onto a high ball into the left channel, flicks it over a defender and sends a looping volley onto the top of the bar. Lovely play. Unlucky for West Ham.

81' - GOAL! BRISTOL CITY 0-1 WEST HAM. The visitors snatch the lead as Sakho rises at the far post to guide into the top corner from Carroll's cross from the right.

90+2' - BRISTOL CITY CHANCE! - The ever dangerous Smith meets Emmanuel-Thomas' cross from the left and sees his attempt fly just wide of the post. That is surely that now.

Sakho has now scored in four of his last six appearances away from home in all competitions.

West Ham have now won both of the meetings between the sides in the FA Cup.

Bristol City have not won at home to West Ham since the 1977-78 season.

(Stats courtesy of Opta and Infostrada)

Can West Ham go all the way? On a weekend of major shocks, West Ham avoided becoming the 11th Premier League side to bow out of this season's competition. The Hammers have a hard-to-beat mentality that has served them well this season and with the right draws they could well realise Big Sam's dream of walking his team out at Wembley.

Winston Reid (West Ham): Easy to see why Reid is so highly regarded and he was a key figure in keeping City at bay following their fast start.

Bristol City: Fielding 6, Little 8, Bryan 8, Ayling 7, Flint 7, Williams 7, K.Smith 7, Saville 7, Freeman 7, Smith 8, Emmanuel-Thomas 8. Subs: Wagstaff 6, Agard n/a, Pack n/a.

West Ham: Adrian 7; Jenkinson 7, Reid 8, Tomkins 7, Cresswell 7; Song 6, Noble 6, Nolan 6, Downing 6; Carroll 7, Valencia 5. Subs: Sakho 8, Amalfitano 7, Demel n/a.