'Massive respect' - Declan Rice makes Kidderminster admission as West Ham scrape through in FA Cup

West Ham United captain Declan Rice admitted that Kidderminster Harriers "probably deserved" to win the FA Cup fourth round tie on Saturday.

The Carpetmen were on the verge of a famous victory at Aggborough after Alex Penny gave the hosts a shock lead in the 19th minute.

Kiddy hearts were broken, though, as the Hammers equalised in injury time through Rice to take the game to extra time.

It seemed as if penalties were on the way until Jarrod Bowen nabbed a winner in the 121st minute to put the Premier League side in Sunday's draw for the fifth round.

The England international was frank about the Hammers' performance, however, and was under no illusions as to which team should have progressed in the competition as he showered praised on the National League North

"Massive, massive respect to Kidderminster," Rice told BBC One after the final whistle.

"We watched some videos of them this week and they've been flying. You could see it on the bench with their manager.

"We weren't at our best today and scraped it with two goals. They probably deserved it if I'm being honest. We need to improve if we want to push on but massive congratulations to them because they were excellent.

"The fans are on top of you and they will fight for every ball. It can be a shock to the system. We know what to expect but it's hard to get to grips with.

"They were in great shape, pressed hard and they made some great substitutions but we're through to the next round so that's the most important thing."