Sam Allardyce relieved to get a result at Bristol City

Diafra Sakho

Winston Reid was happy West Ham avoided becoming the latest Premier League side to be knocked out of the FA Cup as they snatched a 1-0 win at Bristol City yesterday.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton all suffered shock defeats on Saturday, but the Hammers made it through to the fifth round thanks to Diafra Sakho's goal nine minutes from time.

"The manager said to us before that there were a lot of upsets yesterday and we didn't want to be one of them," Reid said afterwards.

League One City pushed their Premier League opponents in the first half, but the Hammers improved after the break and Sakho nodded in Andy Carroll's cross to seal the win at Ashton Gate.

Reid was happy the game did not go to a replay. The New Zealand centre-back said: "We wanted to come here and finish off the game.

"We had to wait a bit for it, but we got there in the end and that's the most important thing.

When asked whether he was relieved to have made it through, Hammers boss Sam Allardyce said: "Yes, because I knew it was going to be tough.

"I think that we found it difficult at times to get our normal passing routine going. It's very rare that we don't score and then one popped up.

"Bearing in mind what's happened over the weekend, it is a pretty big result for us.

"We have not played as well as we can but we are in the hat and that's what matters."

Substitute Sakho broke brave Bristol City hearts with the 81st-minute winner.

It was the striker's first appearance since suffering a back injury against West Brom on New Year's Day and he marked it by rising at the far post to beat Frank Fielding from close range after Andy Carroll had done well to get in a cross from the right.

The outcome was harsh on the League One promotion contenders, who were competitive throughout and gave their Premier League opponents all the trouble they could handle.