West Ham knocked out by 10-man West Brom after Conor Townsend strikes

David Sullivan and David Gold cannot ignore the evidence piling up before their eyes. West Ham are an utter mess and the clock is ticking. The transfer window shuts on Friday and David Moyes, who wore a rather haunted look at the end of this game, needs signings. West Ham’s manager needs a right-back, a midfielder and a striker. He needs his bosses to reach into their pockets or face the likelihood of relegation from the Premier League.

West Bromwich Albion barely had to break stride to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup at West Ham’s expense, even though they lost Semi Ajayi to a red card in the closing stages. Conor Townsend scored the only goal to ensure that Slaven Bilic emerged victorious on his return to this strange and unhappy ground, where the disgruntled locals did not witness a shot on target from Moyes’s side until the 89th minute.

Bellowing instructions from his technical area, Bilic must have been relieved that the groans floating down from the stands for much of the first half were no longer his problem. The Croatian knows how quickly the mood can turn ugly here and, a week after an estimated 900 West Ham supporters held a protest against the club’s deeply unpopular board, the atmosphere was verging on poisonous once West Brom capitalised on a bright start by taking a deserved early lead.

The Championship’s pacesetters dominated from the first whistle and had threatened even before Townsend lashed them in front with a fine strike in the ninth minute. Kyle Edwards had forced Darren Randolph to tip wide from 20 yards. Matt Phillips, running at an exposed back four after the disappointing Declan Rice lost possession to Gareth Barry, almost released Charlie Austin.

West Ham were atrocious, barely able to string two passes together, and they cracked when Austin found space on the edge of the area. Carlos Sánchez’s tackle hit Issa Diop and when the ball ran to Townsend, the West Brom left-back had time to take a touch, set himself and ping a rising drive past Randolph.

Bilic’s decision to make eight changes made no difference. West Brom, whose promotion push has stalled after a run of six league games without a win, should have been out of sight at the break. Filip Krajinovic glanced just wide and Austin was guilty of a poor miss, fluffing a free header from close range.

West Ham were an abject rabble, even though Moyes had picked a fairly strong side, and their malaise was summed up by Fabián Balbuena’s dismal distribution from the back. The centre-half was appalling, so much so that there were ironic cheers when he finally completed a couple of simple passes.

Balbuena was merely the worst of a bad bunch, though. Sánchez lived down to expectations in midfield, Pablo Zabaleta’s lack of pace was exposed at right-back, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals offered nothing in the creative department and there was no understanding between Sébastien Haller and Albian Ajeti up front. The half passed by without Jonathan Bond, West Brom’s goalkeeper, making a save and Moyes reacted during the interval, replacing Balbuena, Sánchez and Fornals with Angelo Ogbonna, Mark Noble and Michail Antonio.

The changes had little effect at first. West Brom continued to call the shots at the start of the second half and Randolph had to make a good save from an Austin header. Krajinovic and Phillips were causing problems as well, wriggling into dangerous positions as Sullivan, the most powerful figure at West Ham, watched uncomfortably from his seat in the directors’ box.

Moyes had introduced Antonio in the hope that the forward’s physicality would unsettle West Brom. It did, but in the wrong way. There was a delay when Antonio, charging in to challenge for a high ball, left Dara O’Shea with a bloody mouth.

After a while West Brom retreated and West Ham belatedly summoned some fight. Haller, the club’s record buy, scuffed a rare chance wide and West Brom were reduced to 10 men when Ajayi, who was booked in the first half, received a second yellow card for a silly trip on Ajeti.

Yet West Ham huffed and puffed, creating little until Noble fired over in injury time. Not to worry, though: Liverpool visit the London Stadium on Wednesday.