Football / FA Cup Fourth-Round Replays: Chapman lifts up Hammers

West Ham United. . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Notts County . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

(After extra time)

A GOAL two minutes from the end of extra time by Lee Chapman rescued West Ham from trial by penalties at Upton Park last night. Chapman's far-post header spared the Hammers the ignominy of joining Arsenal and Leeds as Premiership sides knocked out of Cup replays at home by First Division opposition.

The spur from the outset last night was that the 90 minutes (later plus 30) would probably be the last meaningful passage of the season for the losers. For them, all that would remain was mid-table drudgery, while the victors could look forward to a fifth-round meeting with the only non- League club left in the competition, Kidderminster.

Such importance seemed lost for the first 20 minutes, however, as the game took place without intervention from either goalkeeper. Ludek Miklosko, in the home goal, has had something of an Eskimo's touch in his fingers in recent games, but he rescued the Hammers on 22 minutes when Paul Sherlock broke through.

It was only in extra time that the tide began to turn, for the Hammers in general and Chapman in particular. As well as his marker, Charlie Palmer, the veteran striker had most of the crowd on his back before he converted Tim Breacker's cross.

West Ham United (4-4-2): Miklosko; Breacker, Potts, Brown, Rowland; Marsh, Bishop, M Allen, Holmes; Jones (C Allen, 66), Chapman. Substitutes not used: Marquis, Peyton (gk).

Notts County (4-4-2): Cherry; Sherlock, Johnson, Palmer, Dijkstra; Devlin, Turner, Draper, Legg; Lund (Mathews, 119), McSwegan. Substitutes not used: Cox, Catlin (gk).

Referee: M Pierce (Portsmouth).