BY half-time the mood was nudging the mutinous in the toilets of the main stand. It wouldn’t have surprised Gianfranco Zola. The Italian already knows enough about the vicissitudes of Premier League club management.

“He needs to make some changes if he’s going to turn this round. We can’t lose to this lot,” muttered one Hammers’ fan darkly, alluding to a manager who, he had obviously quickly forgotten, had turned derision to approaching deification in recent weeks.

So, Zola obliged, thrust Fred-die Sears and Ugandan-born, German striker Savio Nsereko, the £9m club-record signing, into the fray. The latter obliged with the kind of free kick that strikes trepidation into the most resolute rearguard, defender Herita Ilunga thrust a head at it, and a replay was secured. Yet, as Zola admitted: “The equaliser was deserved, but I am relieved. I was afraid we were not going to score. The first 50 minutes was one of the worst we have played recently. It was not up to our standards. This was not the team that has played in recent weeks. We’ve had a lot of compliments, but today we learnt that we need to keep up our standards.”

From Boro’s perspective, maybe it was the fact that Premier League pressure was removed, but Southgate’s men performed with a poise and confidence that belied recent form. England’s Stewart Downing, scorer of the opener - his first goal of the season – epitomised that improvement, revelling in his role behind striker Afonso Alves.

Yesterday might not be enough to immediately revitalise Boro’s season, but it might just be the fillip their players, and manager require. In the midst of a sequence in which Gareth Southgate’s side can’t buy a league win, to borrow that old adage, the Hammers came perilously close to handing this to them, gratis. Indifferent defending, and atrociously-profligate finishing had provoked the home faithful’s displeasure in a first half in which the Hammers were insipid. There was a malaise throughout, with passes too often going adrift. Zola claimed later that his players’ “bodies were there, but their minds sometimes weren’t”. It was an apt description. They briefly snapped out of complacency, and Boro goalkeeper Brad Jones made fine saves from Mark Noble and James Collins. But it was Boro who scored. Gary O’Neil’s cross somehow eluded the home defence and Downing ducked in to steer home a header at the far post.

Carlton Cole, who made his England debut on Wednesday, departed just after the half-hour with an ankle injury and was replaced by Diego Tristan, who missed an inviting opportunity when put through by David Di Michele. However, the Hammers had spurned an even easier chance before that when a deflected Noble effort was pawed away by Jones. Jack Collison pounced but skied the ball. Alves could have put the game beyond West Ham, before Zola’s men finally produced their most cohesive football. One miss by Di Michele who cleared the bar after Ilunga had cut back the ball perfectly to him was unforgiveable. Fortunately for him, the visitors’ rearguard was breached by Ilunga, West Ham’s Congolese left-back to ensure that their manager still maintains an interest in the competition he has graced as a player.

WEST HAM UNITED:Green 7, Neill 6, Collins 6, in which Middlesbrough have been Upson 6, Ilunga 7, Collison 7, Parker 7, Noble 6 (Savio 73), Boa Morte 5 (Sears 48, 6), Di Michele 6, Cole 5 (Tristan 33 )

MIDDLESBROUGH:Jones 7, Hoyte 6, Huth 6, Wheater 7, Pogatetz 6, Adam Johnson 7, O’Neil 6, Digard 6, Arca 6 (Walker 76), Downing 8, Alves 6 (Tuncay 73).