West Ham 2 Birmingham 0: Marko Arnautovic and Andy Carroll goals seal FA Cup win as Samir Nasri impresses

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West Ham are into the hat for the fourth round of the FA Cup after Marko Arnautovic and Andy Carroll struck at either end of a relatively uneventful afternoon to get past Championship Birmingham, though the former’s early exit through injury will be cause for concern.

Arnautovic was on hand before anyone had really warmed up on a chilly day in east London to gobble up Lee Camp’s inexcusable mistake before going off to be replaced by Carroll who, in added time, put a couple of poor mistakes behind him to score a first goal since April.

With the east Londoners in no danger of going down this season, there is an appetite for a Cup run in these parts, and Manuel Pellegrini has clearly taken note. There were changes, six of them from the 2-2 draw with Brighton, though his team was a strong one as Samir Nasri was handed his debut while youngster Xande Silva was given a first start alongside Arnautovic.

The Hammers were handed the perfect chance by Blues goalkeeper Lee Camp after less than two minutes when, after Angelo Ogbonna had headed goalward, the keeper parried the ball up to the perfect height for Arnautovic to head home from a yard out.

Pellegrini’s bold decision to start the striker, still working his way back to full fitness after a spell out with a hamstring problem, seemingly vindicated.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

That vindication lasted around 15 minutes when, despite his protests, the Austrian was withdrawn after Nasri had seemingly signalled to the bench that his teammate was struggling with a back problem, a suggestion Arnautovic didn’t quite agree with complaining to Pellegrini with his arms stretched wide as he passed the manager before heading straight for the dressing room.

His replacement Carroll, who was hooked after 45 minutes when making his first start in a year against Brighton midweek, was on hand to head clear off the line when Blues midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld looked to have got the visitors back into it with his header from a corner.

Garry Monk’s side were doing themselves justice, holding tight against a West Ham side which was slowed by the absence of Arnautovic, but struggled to create anything too clear cut going forward.

It may just be Birmingham but Samir Nasri is impressing on his West Ham debut The Frenchman has already shown he has something about him, with quick thinking and a fantastic touch under pressure making up for any lack of fitness so far."

Pellegrini had hinted after the Brighton game that he had wanted to give Nasri a run out in preparation for a start on Saturday afternoon, so it was no surprise when the ex-Manchester City man was taken off on the hour, departing to warm applause from the near 55,000 at London Stadium. It will take time for the Frenchman to get up to speed after over a year without a competitive appearance, but if his first hour in claret and blue was anything to go by, the fans here in Stratford will enjoy watching his Premier League renaissance this season.

West Ham were struggling to kill the game in the second half, infrequent crosses could not find the head of Carroll and the Birmingham back line were restricting their top flight hosts to long range efforts as first Michail Antonio fired just wide before Silva sent one over Camp’s bar.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

Monk knew there was a chance and sent on 23-year-old winger Viv Solomon-Otabor to test the Hammers’ resolve. Birmingham pressed forward and won corner after corner but still could not create a clear chance.

Pellegrini had seen more than enough though and moved to add some much needed quality to a grey first half, sending Felipe Anderson on in an attempt to wrap things up. He may not have been needed had fellow substitutes Carroll and Robert Snodgrass got in a bit of a mess before the former managed to lift a shot from ten yards out onto the top of the bar.

The forward, whose contract is up in the summer, had another chance to impress when laid on by Anderson after two-one. The target man is not know for a soft touch but had enough to take it round Camp, though he had asked too much of himself and didn’t have the energy to catch his own ball and turn it in, hitting the side netting instead of an open goal.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

It had looked to be another embarrassing afternoon for the much maligned striker, though he finally got a reward, rising high in added time to head home past Camp thanks to an inviting outswinger from Antonio.

It was unspectacular but, should Arnautovic come through largely unscathed, will be exactly what Pellegrini had ordered.

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