West Ham 4 Macclesfield 1

Lee Bowyer's 74th minute equaliser cancelled out Gareth Evans' shock early strike for the visitors and silenced the boo boys in a disappointing crowd of just over 10,000 at Upton Park.

Chants of "sack the board" and "what a load of rubbish" echoed round the almost empty stands as the die-hards made their feelings known as their side toiled to break down a resolute Macclesfield defence.

Bowyer's headed goal - greeted with relief - took the game into extra time, where the Premier League side made their fitness and quality tell thanks to goals from Carlton Cole, Zavon Hines and Kyel Reid.

Macclesfield deserve credit for taking the game to their more celebrated opponents in the early stages, but were up against it for much of the second half as they tried to defend their slender lead.

West Ham's worries mounted when Valon Behrami was forced off after half an hour with a serious facial injury, forcing a reshuffle at the back with Julien Faubert slotting into the right-back berth.

It meant a debut for Hines and the young forward looked lively but the Hammers struggled to find any coherent pattern of play, with main dangerman Dean Ashton often forced wide to seek the ball.

Macclesfield rode their luck at times, with goalkeeper John Brian making a couple of outstanding saves. They were unfortunate to lose defender Izak Reid for a second yellow card at the end of normal time, making their task in the extra half-hour all but impossible.

Carlton Cole headed home from close range in the 100th minute, with Hines bundling in his debut goal five minutes later.

That effectively killed the game as a contest and Reid wrapped things up with three minutes left.

Irons' boss Alan Curbishley was a relieved man after the game.

"We turned it into a tricky cup tie, with Macclesfield scoring early and them getting behind the ball and asking us to break them down," he said.

"It got more and more frustrating for everybody but I was confident we were going to get back into it – it was just a question of when, but it dragged on a bit.

“I had a decision to make. I put a couple of kids out there because I thought it was the right time.

“When Behrami came off I could have put Jordan (Spence) on at right-back and left it as it was or give Zav (Hines) a game.

“I plumped for Zav and I'm pleased both he and (Kyel) Reid got their goals. They've all acquitted themselves really well. In all fairness, I think the young lads pulled us out."

West Ham: Green, Behrami (Hines, 30), McCartney (Reid, 55), Upson, Davenport, Mullins, Boa Morte, Faubert, Bowyer, Ashton, Sears (Cole, 58). Unused subs: Lastuvka, Parker, Widdowson, Spence.

Goals: Bowyer (74), Cole (100), Hines (105), Reid (117)

Macclesfield: Brian, Reid, Deen, Hessey, Walker, Bell, Green, Tolley, Thomas, Brisley, Evans. Subs: Towns, Gritton, Yeo, Rooney, Hadfield, Jennings, Flynn.

Goals: Evans (5)

Attendance: 10,055