West Ham rejected an approach from Marseille for Said Benrahma ahead of this replay – a loan with an option to buy this summer.
After his act of pure petulance in this FA Cup exit, David Moyes may wish to reconsider his ‘not for sale’ stance if the French return.
Championship Bristol City had a plan to rough up the Premier League visitors. But when Joe Williams flew into Benrahma in the 51st minute, the Algerian winger responded with a kick into his opponent’s nether regions.
Not even VAR was needed to know it was worthy of red, as Moyes blanked Benrahma while he disappeared down the tunnel.
Without him, West Ham could not find an equalizer to cancel out Tommy Conway’s early opener. Whether we will see Benrahma in a West Ham shirt again, who knows?
He will now miss three games, although, on form, some may say he has been missing for most of this season.
Benrahma is one of several understudies struggling to fill in for the main cast, with Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta still sidelined and Mohammed Kudus at the Africa Cup of Nations, and Moyes said of his dismissal: ‘We’ve got no complaints.’
Asked if he needs signings this month, especially now that Benrahma’s suspension leaves them even shorter, Moyes simply said: ‘Yes.’
City boss Liam Manning disputed that the visitors were hamstrung, saying: ‘They’re swapping Premier League players for Premier League players.’
West Ham’s attack consisted of Maxwel Cornet, Danny Ings and Benrahma. It could have started so well for this makeshift front line if only Ings could have caught up to Cornet’s through-ball.
Instead, he looked like a striker who had not started a game since November as it remained out of reach until City goalkeeper Max O’Leary cleared.
That clearance left West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos in possession. He passed back to Lukasz Fabianski but it was short enough for Conway to intercept before scoring. Eleven seconds separated Ings’s chance and Conway’s opener.
Ings’s night worsened when Williams then stuck his studs into his leg. If VAR was in use, Williams would have been in big trouble.
In the 36th minute, a flowing move by West Ham left Ings with the chance to grab his first goal of the season. Yet City cleared before the 31-year-old booted the ball into the South Stand in frustration.
Before half-time, Fabianski was needed twice. First to stop Anis Mehmeti's drive from finding the bottom corner. Then to catch Ross McCrorie’s header.
In the 49th minute, Williams fouled Benrahma, who kicked out at his opponent in a moment of madness. Referee Darren England reached for red to leave West Ham down to 10 men.
There was an edge to the game as Taylor Gardner-Hickman smacked Aaron Cresswell on the side of the head – another transgression missed by the match officials at Ashton Gate. The closest West Ham had come to equalizing was a Tomas Soucek volley as we entered the closing stages.
Moyes tried turning to the kids on the bench – and Divin Mubama and Callum Marshall
