eplmatches.com

West Ham sealed their passage through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a hard-earned victory at Hartlepool.

0-1 Behrami 44′ | 0-2 M.Noble (Pen) 45′

Valon Behrami put the Hammers head with a neat left-foot finish from 16 yards before Mark Noble converted a penalty deep in first-half injury time.

The decision was given for a handball against Michael Nelson but he was outside the area when contact was made.

Hartlepool keeper Arran Lee-Barrett made a series of superb saves while Rob Green brilliantly denied Gary Liddle.

It was the first meeting between the two teams and one of the most high-profile fixtures in the history of the League One club, who can take great credit from their determination to compete.

Other teams might have wilted after West Ham, who are now unbeaten in six games, scored twice in the final few minutes of the opening half.