David Moyes’ West Ham crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Bristol City (Picture: Getty)
A frustrated David Moyes said it was ‘ridiculous’ that VAR cannot being used across all FA Cup ties after his West Ham side crashed out in the third round at the hands of Bristol City.
After holding the Hammers to a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium, Championship outfit Bristol City put themselves in the driving seat through Tommy Conway’s composed strike in only the third minute of Tuesday night’s replay at Ashton Gate.
Tomas Soucek came closest for the Irons, though was denied by Max O’Leary, and Liam Manning’s men preserved their narrow advantage to book their place in the fourth round after Said Benrahma’s second-half sending off.
Benrahma was given his marching orders after kicking out at Joe Williams in retaliation to being fouled and the Bristol City midfielder was perhaps fortunate not to have been sent off himself.
There were also calls for Williams to have been shown a red card for his reckless challenge on Hammers striker Danny Ings, just moments after Conway’s early goal, but referee Darren England was unable to call upon VAR.
‘It’s incredible that they call it the best cup competition in the world but yet we have one week where we have VAR and the next we don’t,’ Moyes told reporters at his post-match press conference.
‘I find it quite ridiculous. It’s not level for every club.
‘If we’re not having VAR we shouldn’t have it in the tournament at all. If we’re having it, have it everywhere.’
Benrahma was sent off shortly after half-time (Picture: Getty)
Moyes said he was hopeful the club could strengthen their squad before the January transfer deadline, with a view to boosting their prospects in the second half of the campaign.
Asked whether he expected any new arrivals, Moyes responded: ‘I would probably say yes to that.
‘The truth is we’ll try and do some business. Undoubtedly, there’s a desire from the club to try and do something and from me and everybody there.
‘The next part is, can we get the right players to come in and ones we think could help just now?’
Manning believes his side can improve in the fourth round (Picture: Getty)
Bristol City manager Manning feels there is still room for improvement ahead of their meeting with either Nottingham Forest or Blackpool in the next round.
‘The atmosphere was phenomenal,’ Manning told BBC Sport.
‘A special memory for me and the players.
‘We showed real resilience, a good connection and level of organisation.
‘At times it was challenging and we had to keep our emotions in check and we did a terrific job at that.
‘I actually think we can improve and get a little bit better.’
Bristol City booked their place in the fourth round.