Nottingham County battled hard against Manchester City and ultimately earned a draw and a lucrative replay at the City of Manchester Stadium. Although City were outplayed for significant periods of the match and deserved to go behind to Neil Bishop's header, much their poor play can be attributed to the appalling state of the surface, which had recently been used for a slew of rugby games and served to take much of the skill out of the game. But if mud was the great equaliser for home side, Edin Dzeko was the visitors'. With Notts County 1-0 ahead, Dzeko salvaged the mediocre display, evening up the score with ten minutes to go. The Bosnian found himself on the end of a superb cross from Micah Richards and volleyed home his first goal for the club, sparing Roberto Mancini's blushes in the process. Aston Villa await the winner in the next round.
Notts County Vs. Manchester City: Edin Dzeko Gets First City Goal, 1-1 At Full Time
Elsewhere, the other Nottingham side crashed out of the competition as West Ham United came from behind to beat back a spirited Nottingham Forest thanks to a hat trick from Victor Obinna. The Hammers went ahead in the fourth minute as Obinna deflected a Mark Noble shot beyond the reach of Lee Camp, but the visitors pegged back their Premier League hosts with goals from Dele Adebola and David McGoldrick, the latter coming after Rob Green could only parry a back-header from one of his defenders into McGoldrick's pass. Obinna leveled the score immediately before halftime with an attempted cross that went horribly right, before sealing the deal in the 52nd minute when he slotted home a penalty kick. West Hame face Burnley at home in the next round.
