Craig Dawson spared West Ham’s blushes as they progressed to the FA Cup fourth round with a 1-0 victory over non-league Stockport at a sodden Edgeley Park.

The hosts were largely camped in their own half early on and almost fell behind when Said Benrahma chested down a cross, shimmied to find an opening before shooting against the outside of the post.

Andriy Yarmolenko let fly from distance but missed the target, while West Ham were given a scare when goalkeeper Darren Randolph’s punch from a corner flew behind him, only for one of his own defenders to bail him out.

Manuel Lanzini’s effort from the edge of the box was the only one of West Ham’s seven attempts that were on target in the opening 45 minutes, although Michail Antonio twice failed to make the most of being put through.

The pitch was becoming increasingly unpredictable, with the ball routinely stopping in surface water, which was proving something of a leveller for Stockport, who were more of an attacking force after the interval.

After Connor Jennings saw his shot hacked clear, Richie Bennett was introduced in place of the subdued Alex Reid and nearly made an impact, dispossessing last-man Dawson, only for a wayward pass to end the opportunity.

At the other end Benrahma fluffed an attempt from a narrow angle after Hinchliffe slipped while attempting to clear, while the Stockport custodian missed an attempted punch before using his feet to clear.

By this stage West Ham were on the front foot, and a short corner was worked to Bowen, whose cross from the right was glanced into the net by Dawson in the 83rd minute.

Stockport offered little to force the game into extra-time and West Ham held on to set up a fourth-round tie against Doncaster.