Last updated on .From the section FA Cup

West Ham progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup after Nikica Jelavic's sublime strike saw off Championship side Wolves.

The Croat, whose only other goal this season came against Wolves when he was at Hull, scored in the 85th minute when he produced a great low-angled half-volley, which nestled in the corner.

Carl Jenkinson also went close with a strike tipped over by Carl Ikeme.

James Collins denied Wolves when he hooked the ball away from Dave Edwards.

Aside from that half-chance, manager Kenny Jackett's side barely troubled the West Ham defence. Had top scorer Benik Afobe started the opposition backline might have endured a tougher workout.

But the 22-year-old, who has scored 10 goals for the Midlands side this season, was left out in order to finalise a £10m move to Premier League side Bournemouth. external-link

Wolves fans will be hoping the powers-that-be reinvest wisely in January, with the side currently in 11th and seven points shy of the play-off zone.

Hard work for the Hammers

This was not one of West Ham's more memorable FA Cup performances. The three-time winners will have to improve their performance levels markedly in the next round if they are going to enjoy a long run.

The statistics showed that Slaven Bilic's side had a healthy 12 efforts on goal, but many of these were blocked near the edge of the area by a sturdy Wolves defence.

Prior to the goal, the only time keeper Ikeme had his hands stung was when he pushed away a low effort from Pedro Obiang and then tipped over a Jenkinson effort.

A draw looked the likely and fair result until Jelavic struck.

Jelavic hurts Wolves again

Nikica Jelavic scored his first goal for West Ham since joining in September

The 30-year-old striker has only made nine appearances for the Hammers since signing in September, with all but one of them as a substitute.

Injuries forced Bilic to start with the former Everton forward again, who up until the strike was an anonymous figure in the West Ham attack.

But he made the most of the one chance that came his way. With five minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Andy Carroll laid the ball into the path of his team-mate who sent a fizzing effort past the reach of Ikeme.

The goal was enough to give the Hammers their third successive victory, and they are now unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions.

What the managers said

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic:

"We are delighted to be through into the next round - it looked like it was going to be a replay, so we are happy.

"It was a great goal by Jela, he took it very well. Credit to Andy for his part too.

"Credit to Wolves because they started very well and stuck to their game plan. They were very tough to break down."

Wolves manager Kenny Jackett:

"It was a spirited performance, very resolute. We were working hard to take the game to West Ham but we couldn't get the goal.

"It cost us in the end as they had one clear-cut chance and they took it."

On the injury to striker Bjorn Sigurdarson, who was taken off on a stretcher in the second half:

"He just collapsed, there was no one near him. It's his back.

"We hope he is OK."

What next?

The Hammers are at Bournemouth on Tuesday, while Wolves play Fulham at home on Tuesday.