11 mins And now Monkhouse jinks past Parker down the right of the box before screwing a shot right across the face of Green's goal. Excellent, open game so far.9 mins And that was *very* nearly the opening goal for Hartlepool. Green makes a wild decision to come out and try to punch away the corner, missing it completely, and Mackay heads the ball towards the open goal at the back post, only for Parker to block it on the line and hack it away. Looking at the replays it may actually have been a deflection of Behrami's back rather than a Mackay header, but either way it very nearly wound up in the net.8 mins Corner to Hartlepool as Porter cuts inside Tomkins down the right, causing the defender to slip.6 mins "Oooh," says Zola, as Collison collects the ball with his back to goal just inside the box and pushes it into the path of Noble, who looks up and curls a shot a foot or so wide of the right-hand upright. Good tempo here so far.4 mins Roars of outrage from the crowd as the referee gives West Ham a free-kick near midfield after Mackay shoves Tomkins out of the way. How dare he get fouled like that?3 mins Faubert loops a cross over from the right that Nelson can only get a glancing header on and Lee-Barrett is forced to tip it over the Hartlepool bar. Edgy start for Hartlepool but the keeper punches the ensuing corner away without much bother.1 min We're off, though it takes ITV's clock and scoreboard 34 seconds to catch up with the rest of us.I feel you should all know ... The teams ran out to Get Ready for This by 2Unlimited. My estimation of Hartlepool United just fell a little.Team news: The teams are running out, so I better let you know who's in them. If you were wondering how seriously West Ham would take this, then the answer is they've changed just two players from the weekend's game against Fulham - with Julien Faubert and James Tomkins replacing Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson. For Hartlepool full-back Antony Sweeney is back from an injury and replaces Jamie McCunnie in the starting XI.Hartlepool: Lee-Barrett, Sweeney, Nelson, Clark, Humphreys,Monkhouse, Jones, Liddle, Robson, Mackay, Porter. Subs: Budtz,McCunnie, Collins, Power, Foley, Rowell, Henderson.West Ham: Green, Faubert, Collins, Tomkins, Ilunga, Behrami,Parker, Noble, Collison, Cole, Di Michele. Subs: Stech, Neill,Boa Morte, Mullins, Spector, Tristan, Sears.Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)Can I just say ... For all that I am very much looking forward to this game, I am still puzzled by the decision to show this one rather than Kettering v Fulham. That game might well be more one-sided, but really - how often do you get to see a non-league side take on a Premier League side in the fourth round? Jon Henderson wrote an excellent piece on Kettering's sense of grievance earlier in the week, which I reckon you should all read right now.The magic of the Cup? Is there a less magical tie for a mid-table Premier League side than an away game against a League One team based at the other end of the country? West Ham know that while they should win, nobody will give them any credit if they do and they could easily lose if they have an off day. I actually reckon West Ham will get through this one, but I wouldn't bet against them conceding at least once.Hello We've got a Superb Saturday* of FA Cup fun coming your way. First up is Hartlepool v West Ham right here, then we have a fourth round clockwatch from 2pm, and some time after that Scott Murray will have all the details from Manchester United v Tottenham. Aren't you lucky?*** Guardian.co.uk makes no guarantees regarding the superbness of your Saturday. No refunds will be offered in the event of average, mediocre, or downright shoddy experiences.** No more so than average.FA CupHartlepoolWest Ham Unitedguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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