Wolves FA Cup hopes were dealt a hammer blow when West Ham dumped them out of the cup at the Fourth Round stage.

After a superb week mixing it with the Premiership big guns, Wolves must changed line up were humbled by a West Ham team lying a mediocre 8th in Division 1.

DJ rested Irwin, Rae, Craddock and Iversen giving a new look line up a chance to grab some glory and try to book a fifth round place.

With a noisy set of fans and three strikers, The Hammers looked up for it from Kick Off and soon had Wolves on the back foot.

It was no surprise to anyone in the ground when the vibrant away side took the lead on 4 minutes. Wolves failed to clear the ball in the area. Brian Deane controlled the ball on the edge of the area and lashed it past Oakes. Wolves 0 West Ham 1

Shell-shocked Wolves were struggling to get a grip on the game with Silas looking the only real threat. The Portuguese winger looked full of running but lacked support from the front two.

West Ham still looked bright and won a free kick on the edge of the Wolves area on 20 minutes. The Wolves defence were undone by a well-worked free kick, which fell to Harewood. The former Forest man’s scissor kick beat Oakes to double the visitor’s lead. Wolves 0 West Ham 2

The goal finally woke Wolves up and the response was immediate. Just 2 minutes later Wolves striker Ganea found space on the box before expertly side footing the ball past Bywater to give the home side hope. Wolves 1 West Ham 2

Wolves were now looking more settled but West Ham still looked sharp on the break with Connelly covering more ground then he ever did in his ’98 loan spell at Wolves.

The home side still looked lightweight upfront with Miller looking ragged after his midweek exploits. The Scotsman failed to play an easy ball to Ganea when the Romanian looked clear.

West Ham sealed a great half by scoring a controversial third goal. Connelly broke through on the left but both he and Deane looked off side. The flag stayed down and the Eire striker blasted the ball emphatically past Oakes much to the disgust of the home crowd. Wolves 1 West Ham 3

Wolves huffed and puffed for the remainder of the half but with Silas struggling with an injury, hopeful long balls looked out only way forward.

Carl Cort was introduced before kick off he must be wandering what he as let himself in for.

Half time Wolves 1 West Ham 3

Wolves came out in the second half with Craddock and Gudjonsson replacing Luzhney and Silas respectively. Both changes were forced by injury.

West Ham looked less adventurous with their 2 goal cushion and was happy to try to contain the home side.

Recent goal hero Miller came off midway through the half giving Leon Clarke a chance to shine. The youngster soon went close with a header.

Wolves then squandered their best chance to get back into the game. Vio Ganea saw his shot saved well by Bywater. The rebound fell to Clarke who shot wide with the goal at his mercy and the keeper stranded.

The game slipped away from Wolves after that, as the attacking seemed to get more desperate by the minute.

As the home sections emptied Cameron went close in the dying moments of the game. The midfield man capped a poor performance by hitting the post from a good position.

The final whistle signalled the end of Wolves FA cup hopes for another year, much to the delight of the Cockney away fans.

Trouble between rival fans after the game added to a bad afternoon all round for the Club.

DJ expressed disappointment after the game but deep down the distraction of the cup was something he could well do with out. A good result against Pompey could well justify his weaker team selection today, lets just hope so.

Full time Wolves 1 West Ham 3