Bristol City 2-0 Doncaster

  • Published

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas struck twice to secure League One side Bristol City a televised FA Cup fourth-round home tie against West Ham.

The forward nodded in the first-half opener from close range after keeper Marko Marosi denied Aden Flint.

James Coppinger's shot was cleared off the line for Doncaster, who pushed hard after the interval.

But Emmanuel-Thomas ran half the length of the pitch to score a second on the break with a cool finish.

Bristol City, knocked off the top of League One by Swindon's win at Coventry on Monday, deserved their victory despite Doncaster's second-half efforts.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas - Cup hero

Bristol City's match-winner Jay Emmanuel-Thomas scored in every round to help Arsenal win the FA Youth Cup in 2008-09, lifting the trophy as they beat Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the final

On-loan Fulham forward Matt Smith - who went into the game on a run of nine goals in five matches - nodded an early chance wide before Flint headed over when unmarked from Marlon Pack's corner.

Flint made amends by playing a part as Steve Cotterill's side took the lead, though, with a header that Marosi pushed out before Emmanuel-Thomas scrambled in the loose ball.

Slovakia Under-21 international Marosi - making his first senior start after Manchester United recalled Sam Johnstone to send him out on loan to Preston - then had a lucky escape when his clearance hit Smith's back, but the ball drifted wide.

Doncaster, mid-table in League One, threw on strikers Nathan Tyson and Theo Robinson in a bid to save the game, but Emmanuel-Thomas snuffed out any hopes of a comeback.

West Ham needed a penalty shootout to defeat Everton.

The Hammers' fourth-round tie away at Ashton Gate will be live on BBC One on 25 January.

Bristol City defender Mark Little told BBC Radio Bristol:

Media caption,

Little relishing West Ham clash

"It's a fantastic draw. There wasn't much between them, both would have been good ties, but in the end it's West Ham and it will be a good test.

"We'll be playing one of the top teams in the country.

"That's the league everyone wants to play in so we can go and see how we're going to cope with such a good team.

"They're coming here [Ashton Gate], which will be a bonus for us. We always play well here."

Sorry, we can't display this part of the article any more.

Around the BBC

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.