MX23RW : Wednesday, January 30 18:13:58
Jan 26, 2019 at 7.45pm UK at ​The Cherry Red Records Stadium
Attendance: 4,777
AFC Wimbledon
4-2
West HamWest Ham United
Appiah (34'), Wagstaff (41', 46'), Sibbick (88')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Perez (57'), Anderson (71')

Result: AFC Wimbledon stun West Ham to secure famous FA Cup win

Result: AFC Wimbledon stun West Ham to secure famous FA Cup win
© Reuters
Scott Wagstaff scored twice to help see off their Premier League opponents.

AFC Wimbledon rekindled the Crazy Gang spirit of years gone by to produce a shock 4-2 FA Cup victory over West Ham.

The Dons, languishing at the foot of League One and heavily beaten by Barnsley and Fleetwood in their last two matches, were hardly given a prayer of getting past the Premier League Hammers.

But they did not just knock them out, they outplayed and outmuscled them for the best part of an hour, Scott Wagstaff scoring twice after Kwesi Appiah's opener.

Substitutes Lucas Perez and Felipe Anderson raised hopes of a comeback for the Hammers, but they were extinguished when Toby Sibbick struck the fourth two minutes from time.

Instead West Ham slunk back to east London on the end of surely one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history, the club who spent £100million in the summer sent packing by a team of youngsters and free transfers.

Marko Arnautovic was not in the West Ham squad despite attempting to clear up his future late on Friday night with a statement insisting he was committed to the club, for now at least.

The Austrian striker had his head turned by a mega-money offer from China earlier this month, but claimed he wanted to stay and "try to win the cup".

That will not be happening now, despite Manuel Pellegrini naming a strong starting XI, with former West Ham coach Wally Downes instead celebrating a win almost as unlikely as their 1988 final victory over Liverpool.

It is not as if the Hammers had not been warned. They had conceded a goal in the opening two minutes when they won here in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

And Wimbledon, playing their first FA Cup fourth-round tie since their reformation in 2002, had West Ham rattled in the opening stages and Terrell Tomas blazed an excellent chance over the crossbar from 10 yards out.

Then Mitch Pinnock's cross-shot from a free-kick forced an unconvincing punch clear from Hammers keeper Adrian, who also did well to hold a header from Pinnock at his near post.

Appiah, back in the team for the first time since he scored the last-minute winner against Fleetwood in round three, struck the deserved opener 11 minutes before half-time.

Worse was to come seven minutes later, Pedro Obiang allowing Wagstaff to rob him on the halfway line and race through.

The former Charlton midfielder still had plenty to do but kept his composure to beat the onrushing Adrian and give the minnows a 2-0 half-time lead.

A clearly unimpressed Pellegrini made a triple substitition at half-time, turning to Ryan Fredericks, Lucas and record signing Anderson.

But 41 seconds later his side unthinkably found themselves three goals down, Appiah crossing for Wagstaff to poke home from 12 yards out.

Perez pulled one back in the 57th minute, sweeping the ball home after a goalmouth scramble, and when Anderson curled in a delightful free-kick with 20 minutes remaining alarm bells began to ring for the hosts.

Wimbledon's Tennai Watson was possibly too honest by continuing his run after he was clipped by Arthur Masuaku in the area, whereas had he gone down a penalty could have put the game to bed.

However, Sibbick brought the house down with an 88th-minute header to seal a memorable victory and compound West Ham's embarrassment.

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Wally Downes at West Ham in November 2012
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AFC Wimbledon boss Downes says patience is key to FA Cup upset
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Luton TownLuton30188458273162
2Portsmouth29176649301957
3Barnsley29168551262556
4Charlton AthleticCharlton30166847311654
5Sunderland271411248262253
6Peterborough UnitedPeterborough30131074940949
7Doncaster RoversDoncaster28137851371446
8Blackpool29111083127443
9Wycombe WanderersWycombe30119104142-142
10Fleetwood Town30109114134739
11Coventry CityCoventry30116133136-539
12Southend UnitedSouthend29122153835338
13Burton Albion29107123939037
14Scunthorpe UnitedScunthorpe30107133854-1637
15Accrington StanleyAccrington2899102736-936
16Walsall2998123345-1235
17Plymouth ArgylePlymouth3096153852-1433
18Gillingham2995153948-932
19Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury29710123239-731
20Oxford UnitedOxford Utd29710123746-931
21Bradford CityBradford3094173651-1531
22Rochdale3087153661-2531
23Bristol Rovers2978142732-529
24AFC Wimbledon2965182245-2323

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