West Ham and Brentford ousted from FA Cup as 5th-tier Eastleigh's dream of playing Man United ends

Bristol City's Tommy Conway rounds West Ham's goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski... — Bristol City's Tommy Conway rounds West Ham's goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski before scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English FA Cup third round replay soccer match between Bristol City and West Ham United at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, England, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Credit: AP/David Davies

By The Associated PressJanuary 16, 2024

Premier League teams West Ham and Brentford exited the FA Cup on Tuesday as fifth-tier Eastleigh’s dream of hosting the mighty Manchester United in the fourth round was extinguished.

West Ham lost 1-0 at second-tier Bristol City in one of five third-round replays, with the only goal coming in the third minute following a defensive mistake from Konstantinos Mavropanos. The visitors also had Said Benrahma sent off early in the second half for kicking out at an opponent.

Brentford was beaten 3-2 after extra time by Wolverhampton in an all-Premier League matchup at Molineux. Brazil striker Matheus Cunha scored the clinching goal from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time in extra time, with the match finishing 2-2 in regulation.

Wolves will play local rival West Bromwich Albion next.

Luton was the other top-flight team in action and had to come from behind to win 2-1 at third-tier Bolton. Tahith Chong and Chiedozie Ogbene scored for Luton.

Eastleigh, which is in 11th place in the National League, was looking to set up a lucrative meeting with Man United and one of the most mismatched games in the recent history of the competition.

However, a 3-1 home loss to Newport County means it will be the fourth-tier club from Wales taking on Erik ten Hag’s team on Jan. 28. Newport, which is in 17th place in League Two, lost to Tottenham in the fourth round in 2018 and Manchester City in the fifth round in 2019.