West Ham get FA Cup blues

Herita Ilunga was the unlikely hero when he got his head on the end of an 83rd minute free-kick to cancel out Stewart Downing's first-half goal.

It was no more than the Hammers deserved in a tight encounter, with both sides wasting decent scoring opportunities, but there was a downside to the result.

Luis Boa Morte picked up a hamstring injury which looks likely to keep him out of action for a few weeks while Carlton Cole also came off with an ankle injury, the seriousness of which has yet to be determined.

Cole, fresh from making his England bow in midweek, had looked off the pace and apart from a half-chance in the 13th minute offered little goal threat to Boro's robust defence.

He limped off after 34 minutes to be replaced by Diego Tristan but the Spaniard, along with David Di Michele, was well shackled by Robert Huth and David Wheater.

And it was the visitors who created the early chances after getting off to a bright start. Adam Johnson fired narrowly wide after just two minutes and Downing also came close a few minutes later.

West Ham looked lacklustre for the first quarter of an hour until they produced an excellent five minute spell which could have brought them a goal.

Mark Noble saw his shot saved by Brad Jones following good work from Jack Collison and then James Collins had a fierce long-range drive pushed away by the Australian keeper.

But the Irons were put on the back foot when Downing opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.

Gary O'Neil was allowed time and space to swing a cross in from the right, James Collins and Matthew Upson failed to clear and Downing stooped at the far post to head home from close range.

It was difficult to see where West Ham would find an equaliser from as they huffed and puffed to little effect for the rest of the half.

Di Michele conjured up a 30-yard volley that looped wide while Collison missed a good chance when he blasted the ball over from six yards out.

Boro looked dangerous on the break but lacked composure in front of goal, particularly record signing Afonso Alves who fluffed a couple of decent opportunities.

A sign of the Hammers frustration was Mark Noble's booking in first-half injury time for a reckless tackle.

Things took a turn for the worse when Boa Morte left the pitch just four minutes after the restart. The Portuguese winger had produced one of his better displays for the Irons and his replacement, Freddie Sears, seemed to struggle against Boro's physical defenders.

Boro, enduring a terrible run of league form, continued to give it a go and Downing forced Robert Green into a fine diving save with a fierce 30-yard shot on 73 minutes.

The Hammers looked to be heading out of the competition when Di Michele wasted a golden chance to score, firing his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

But salvation came in the form of Congolese left-back Ilunga, who scored in the third round win over Barnsley, who converted Savio's free-kick - much to the relief of the home fans.

West Ham now face a replay at the Riverside next Tuesday and manager Gianfranco Zola admitted it is a game he could do without.

He said: "That is not great news but it's okay. We want to go through. It's going to be tough, it's going to be more difficult but we are determined to go through."

West Ham: Green, Neill, Ilunga, Upson, Collins, Noble (Savio, 74), Parker, Boa Morte (Sears, 49), Collison, Cole (Tristan, 34), Di Michele. Unused subs: Lastuvka, Lopez, Kovac, Spector.

Goal: Ilunga, 83

Booked: Noble, Di Michele

Middlesbrough: Jones, Hoyte, Pogatetz, Wheater, Huth, O'Neil, Digard, Downing, Arca (Walker, 76), Johnson, Alves (Tuncay, 74). Unused subs: Turnbull, Emnes, Bates, McMahon, Bennett.

Goal: Downing, 22

Booked: O'Neil

Referee: Peter Walton

Attendance: 33, 658