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FA Cup fourth round: Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill rues missed chances after 1-0 loss to West Ham

Steve Cotterill, Manager of Bristol City, hopes his side create an FA Cup upset against Premier League West Ham.
Image: Steve Cotterill: Proud of his players after West Ham clash

Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill was disappointed despite Bristol City impressing in their 1-0 loss to West Ham in the FA Cup fourth round.

The hosts were much the better side in the opening period, and played some fine football that would not have looked out of place in the Prmeier League.

Matt Smith twice saw headers cleared off the line before West Ham came into the match after the break, with Diafra Sakho grabbing a late winner.

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Steve Cotterill says his side lacked the cutting edge needed to break down the West Ham defence.

But even after the deadlock had been broken, Smith almost earned City a replay with an injury-time header that went inches wide and home boss Cotterill was proud of his side's efforts.

"We have lost to a strong team and a very good club," Cotterill said.

"Sam has done a fantastic job at West Ham and I sincerely hope they now go on to win the competition.

"We are disappointed because we worked hard in the build-up to the game. We needed to score when on top in the first half and had some good chances.

"If I am ultra-critical of my players, I think we could have done better in the second half. But overall I think we showed a national TV audience that we are a decent team.

Carl Jenkinson of West Ham battles for the ball with Bristol City's Joe Bryan.
Image: Carl Jenkinson: Battles for the ball with Joe Bryan.

"Sakho made a difference and was lively from the moment he came on. We can't hope to have that sort of quality on the bench as a League One club.

"We have a big game here on Thursday in the area final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and what has so far been a successful league campaign (is set to) continue so there is a lot to look forward to."

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