West Ham 2 — 0 Birmingham 
by Paul Donovan
at London Stadium

WEST HAM finally ran out comfortable winners of this FA cup third-round tie but not before some testing moments from the competitive Championship Birmingham side.

The home team were in front just two minutes into the game, when Marko Arnautovic headed home.

The in-form striker was not subsequently happy when substituted after 20 minutes. Manager Manuel Pellegrini later confirmed that Arnautovic had some back pain, so he wasn’t taking any chances.