Sinclair goals hand Hammers a lifeline

West Brom 1 West Ham 2

David James made three vital saves in the final 15 minutes to deny Albion in a storming finish to this clash of relegation strugglers.

Albion were left raging after referee Eddie Wolstenholme disallowed two of their strikes for offside and waved away two second-half penalty claims, but despite a huge second-half assault they only had themselves to blame for their inability to take at least a point.

Sinclair put the Hammers ahead from a tight angle in first-half injury-time, but a super start to the second half from the home team gave Daniele Dichio the chance to head home a 50th-minute equaliser.

Albion lapsed during their spell of total dominance, an unnecessary back-pass beginning the 67th-minute move which ended in Les Ferdinand striking the crossbar and Sinclair sweeping up from close range to seal the three points.

Sinclair had already been guilty of a potentially costly miss when he scooped a 39th-minute shot against the crossbar, but his goal gave the Hammers a half-time boost after a predictably nervy first period which Albion probably shaded.

West Brom manager Gary Megson blamed poor finishing for his side’s failure to capitalise. The London club have now climbed above Albion in the bottom three. Daniele Dichio, Scott Dobie and Lee Hughes twice fired shots straight at David James as the visitors held on for a 2-1 win and a vital three-point haul.

“To get four chances like that in one half you can’t ask for much better than that,” said Megson. “We played much better in the second half and I thought we bossed the game for 90%, but it’s that 10% that counts, finishing at one end and keeping them out at the other. Trevor Sinclair’s first goal was a great finish from a tight angle but that’s the difference. He had one chance from a tight angle and we had four with no angle, and we didn’t take them.”

Megson refused to blame the officials who enraged the home supporters by ruling out two Albion strikes and turning down the penalty claims: “I haven’t seen the first decision and I have no problems with the second. I don’t want to start hooting and hollering about the performance of the officials.

“The fact is we had four one-on-one chances and, if you don’t stick them away, you can’t start looking for excuses.”

West Ham boss Glenn Roeder described the result as “massive” and praised goalkeeper James for his match-winning display: “I expect that type of performance from David James. That’s what he’s capable of doing week in, week out if he has to do it. I’m very pleased that the kind of performance he produced helped us secure those three points.”

Roeder was also delighted with the contribution of Sinclair, who bounced back after an horrendous 39th-minute miss to grab the goals which move the Hammers to within three points of the safety zone.

The one blot on an otherwise great day for the Hammers was a brief display of petulance from striker Paolo di Canio when he was substituted two minutes into the second half.

WEST BROM: Hoult, Moore, Gilchrist, Gregan, Adam Chambers, Koumas, Wallwork (Sigurdsson 74), McInnes (Dobie 74), Udeze, Dichio, Hughes.

WEST HAM: James, Johnson, Repka, Pearce, Brevett, Bowyer (Breen 85), Carrick, Lomas, Sinclair, Les Ferdinand (Hutchison 81), Di Canio (Defoe 49).

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).