Kidderminster Harriers 1-2 West Ham: Hammers overcome huge scare

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FA Cup highlights: West Ham United 2-1 Kidderminster Harriers

Premier League West Ham overcame a huge scare in the FA Cup fourth round as they beat National League North Kidderminster Harriers in extra time.

The Hammers were two minutes away from being the first top-flight team to be knocked out by sixth-tier opposition in the cup's 151-year history.

Declan Rice levelled after 91 minutes, cancelling out Alex Penny's opener.

Jarrod Bowen completed the turnaround in the 121st minute.

Hammers strike a cruel blow on Kiddy

The result was incredibly cruel on Kidderminster who led for 72 minutes against the team currently fifth in the Premier League table.

Russell Penn's side then held out for an additional 30 extra-time minutes and looked set to be heading for penalties.

After an even opening quarter, Penny side-footed home a loose ball following a wide free-kick, sending a packed, boisterous home crowd to fever pitch at Aggborough.

West Ham, who had eight changes, forced Kidderminster keeper Luke Simpson into a number of smart saves in the second half - but for much of the tie, the Harriers looked the likelier to progress.

England international Declan Rice was brought on in the second period and he stayed composed in the penalty area with seconds remaining, hammering home an equaliser to spare his side from an embarrassing defeat.

It was then one-way traffic in extra time and the Hammers completed their comeback when Bowen tapped in an Aaron Cresswell pass across goal.

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'Declan Rice saves West Ham' as he equalises in stoppage time

So very nearly the shock of the season

Kidderminster - third in the National League North and 112 league places below their star-studded opposition - were the lowest side still left in the contest.

The Harriers had entered the competition in the second qualifying stage and had already pulled off a big shock in this year's competition by beating Championship outfit Reading in the previous round.

A win over West Ham, who themselves beat European champions Chelsea less than two months ago, would have gone down in FA Cup folklore.

Only Luton Town - against Norwich in 2013 - and Lincoln - at Burnley in 2017 - had beaten a Premier League side while playing outside of England's top four divisions.

Instead, the Worcestershire club narrowly missed out on reaching the fifth round for the second time in their history; they were defeated 1-0 by West Ham 28 years ago.

Kidderminster now return to league action with their next match against AFC Telford next Saturday. West Ham face Watford in the Premier League on Tuesday.

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