Robin van Persie struck two minutes into stoppage time to rescue a replay for Manchester United from their FA Cup encounter with West Ham United at Upton Park this evening.

Visiting United broke the deadlock through Tom Cleverley, only for his effort to be cancelled out by James Collins before the break.

Centre-back Collins added a second midway through the second half and it looked as though he had sent the Hammers into round four until Van Persie intervened.

Here, Sports Mole decides if either side could argue that they deserved to have progressed through to round four.

Match statistics:

West Ham:
Shots 15
On target 7
Possession 41%
Corners 4
Fouls 5

Man United:
Shots 12
On target 6
Possession 59%
Corners 5
Fouls 13

Was the result fair?

On the balance of play, you'd have to say that a draw was a fair outcome. However, West Ham supporters may disagree and that is understandable. Their side were more than a match for Man United, but it will be the manner of the draw that will be more frustrating to them.

West Ham's performance

There is not much more the Hammers could have done to get through if truth be told. After the first 20 minutes it looked as though they were going to be on the wrong side of heavy result but thereafter, they got about Man United's midfield and didn't let them settle. Having gone 2-1 up, one disappointing thing for Sam Allardyce will be the lack of chances that his team went on to create.

Man United's performance

How many times have we seen United do that? They were by no means at their best, but they've somehow come away with a replay. When Cleverley put them in front United were the dominant force, but they struggled to get their passing going after that. Credit to them though because having gone behind, they exerted a lot of pressure on the West Ham rearguard and eventually got their reward.

Sports Mole's man of the match

James Collins: Any centre-back that scores two goals is pretty much an automatic choice to win this award. However, there was more to the Welsh international's game today than the goals. He tackled and blocked virtually everything that moved. It was an all-round top performance from the West Ham defender.

Biggest gaffe

Having been brought on to find an equaliser, it looked as though Ryan Giggs had blown United's best chance when he headed over a cross from Rafael that looked easier to score. He may have atoned later in stoppage time with a defence-splitting pass for Van Persie's goal, but the veteran's miss cannot be ignored.

Referee performance

Martin Atkinson must wish all of his matches were like this one. He had very little to do and only booked players when their fouls warranted it. It was also pleasing to see him allow play to flow, even when fouls had been committed.

What next?

West Ham: On Saturday the Hammers travel to the Stadium of Light to take on struggling Sunderland.

Man United: Next up for Sir Alex Ferguson's side is the small matter of rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.