The Greek ace Giannakopoulos saw his second half effort quashed by referee Chris Foy after being put in a good position by in-form wing back and player of round four Ricardo Gardner. The replays later showed that the Merseyside official got it wrong as Hammers new signing Lionel Scaloni played the Bolton forward onside.

The game was littered with half chances and the Wanderers will rue the fact that they were unable to make their large period of dominence count against a very well organised West Ham side looking to prolong their unbeaten run which started at the turn of the New Year.

On 29 minutes a good flick on by Trotters striker Kevin Davies found it's way through to Kevin Nolan but the highly rated midfielder lifted the ball over the bar after being sandwiched in by two members of the visitors defence.

One time England cap Paul Konchesky made a bursting run down the left for West Ham but he could find no way through a packed opposition penalty area with his eventual shot cannoning off the back of Wanderers defender Tal Ben-Haim.

Three minutes before the break the returning Gary Speed went close for Bolton with a header which just went wide of Shaka Hislop's goal. The Welshman was later required to go off the pitch for treatment soonafter to have a head wound looked at which was sustained in the move.

In the second half more frustration ensued as Davies fired agonisingly wide for the Trotters from the egde of the area whilst Nolan tried to catch out goalkeeper Hislop with a shot which sailed harmlessly over the bar and into the family stand.

Giannakopoulos thought he had made the much needed breakthrough on 64 minutes with the opener but somehow Mr Foy and his linesmen felt that the Greek has strayed into an offside position.

The former Olympiakos favourite later appealed for a penalty after having his shirt pulled by West Ham full back Scaloni but referee Foy felt that the Bolton man had made a meal out of the incident despite the minimal amount of contact.

Seven million pound signing Dean Ashton went close to grabbing his second Hammers goal in a week on 66 minutes but the former Norwich and Crewe man headed into the side netting following Konchesky's well delivered centre.

Both sides made changes to their tactics in the last twenty minutes with Ricardo Vaz-Te and Jared Borgetti coming on for Bolton whilst Bobby Zamora, Teddy Sheringham and Christian Dailly all entered the play for West Ham.

None of the new boys who came off the bench could make an impact on the game or find an eventual matchwinner, meaning that the sides must do it all again at Upton Park in just over a week from now.

A replay will not suit Bolton due to their busy schedule in league and cup competitions and West Ham will be the happier of the two sides at gaining this result.

Bolton Wanderers: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Joey O'Brien, Tal Ben-Haim, Radhi Jaidi, Ricardo Gardner, Jay-Jay Okocha, Gary Speed, Hidetoshi Nakata, Stelios Giannakopoulos (Ricardo Vaz-Te), Kevin Davies (Jared Borgetti), Kevin Nolan

Subs Not Used: Ian Walker, Nicky Hunt, Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye

West Ham United: Shaka Hislop, Lionel Scaloni, Anton Ferdinand, Danny Gabbidon, Paul Konchesky, Yossi Benayoun (Christian Dailly), Nigel Reo-Coker, Hayden Mullins, Matthew Etherington, Marlon Harewood (Bobby Zamora), Dean Ashton (Teddy Sheringham)

Subs Not Used: Stephen Bywater, James Collins

Referee:

Chris Foy

Attendance:

17,120

Booked:

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