West Ham cruised to a 2-0 victory against Derby County in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Goals from Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio secured victory for the Hammers. 

West Ham took the lead early on - Bowen tapped in from close range, after fine work from Antonio in the build up. It dampened the home crowd's mood, as the visitors controlled the first half from then on and took a comfortable 1-0 lead into half-time.

Hopes of a Derby comeback ended in the second half. Minutes after the restart, West Ham doubled their lead through Antonio. He latched onto Bowen's deflected cross to head in from close range. From that point onwards, the visitors calmly saw through the rest of the match and cruised into the next round.

Derby's attention now turns back towards their League One promotion push, whilst West Ham will now face Manchester United away in the fifth round of the cup. 

  • Story of the match

Derby made one change from the side that beat Port Vale last week, with James Collins coming in for David McGoldrick.

Meanwhile, West Ham made six changes to the team that beat Everton last Saturday. Tomas Soucek, Pablo Fornals and Thilo Kehrer were some of the notable names to come into the starting eleven.

Before the match, both sides knew the winners would be rewarded with a tie away at Old Trafford in the fifth round.

The first clear chance fell to the visitors. West Ham dispossessed Nathaniel Mendez-Laing in the middle of the park. Bowen raced through, but chose to shoot instead of laying it off to Michail Antonio. It was a weak effort, which was comfortably saved by Joseph Wildsmith.

However, just a minute later, the Hammers took the lead through Bowen. Antonio flicked a delicate chip into the box, Soucek latched onto the pass, before playing it across goal for the winger to coolly tap it home. It was a simple goal from the visitors, whilst Derby were frustrated from their defensive structure at the back.

After the goal, the match settled into rhythm, with the visitors controlling the match comfortably. Derby had more possession in the early stages, but lacked quality in the final third. In fact, during the opening 30 minutes, they failed to register a shot on target.

Collins tried an audacious volley in the 33rd minute. He connected firmly, however, it blazed high and wide of goal. It was an effort that epitomised Derby early on.

Late on, Mendez-Laing drove down the right flank and placed a powerful low cross into the box, but it was cleared easily by Angelo Ogbonna. 

The half-time whistle concluded a dull affair at Pride Park - West Ham were in control despite having less possession. Derby knew it would take an impressive comeback to progress into the fifth round.

Derby's comeback hopes end

As the second half began, Derby's hopes of a comeback vanished when Antonio doubled the visitor's lead.

Bowen raced down the right flank after capitalising on a missed interception. The Englishman then placed a powerful cross into the box, which, albeit with a deflection, found the striker in the box. With no one around him, Antonio nodded home from close range to delight the travelling fans. 

It sucked the life out of the League One side, with the Hammers having complete control in the opening minutes of the second half.

With Derby heading for a loss, they took the opportunity to rest their key players. Max Bird, Mendez-Laing, Curtis Davies and Tom Barkhuizen all made way in the 62nd minute.

The substitutes provided Derby with fresh energy. In quick succession, they placed West Ham's defence under pressure with their high press, but they were unable to create anything significant. Bowen came close to making it 3-0 with a powerful effort, but it was superbly stopped by Wildsmith. 

With under 20 minutes remaining, Ben Johnson fired a powerful shot towards Wildsmith, but the goalkeeper once again stood firm.

There was a lack of intensity from both sides as time passed, with both almost accepting the result. With the game petering out, the travelling fans were in fine voice in the away end, as they celebrated a comfortable victory for their team.

The full time whistle blew at Pride Park, which ended an uneventful affair in Derby. 

  • Player of the match

It was a comfortable victory for West Ham, which was made easier thanks to Antonio's performance. 

The striker helped create the first goal with a delicate chip in the build up. Later, he doubled the visitor's lead with a simple header in the opening minutes of the second half.

Antonio has had an inconsistent season at the London Stadium this season, but he will be hoping he can fire into gear after this performance.