Liverpool win adds to Hammers' woes

West Ham 0 Liverpool 3

Liverpool’s 200th league victory since the formation of the Premiership 11 seasons ago halted their miserable recent run and increased West Ham’s relegation fears.

Milan Baros and Steven Gerrard struck inside the opening nine minutes to kill off the game as a contest and Emile Heskey continued his recent scoring form after 67 minutes to seal only Liverpool’s second Premiership win in 14 matches and their first triumph at Upton Park since 1996.

The matchday announcer tried to gee-up the crowd – if not the players – before kick-off with the now familiar rendition of the theme tune to “The Great Escape” and the need for such heroics were summed up as West Ham found themselves two goals behind after only nine minutes.

The first blow came after exactly six minutes as John Arne Riise delivered an inswinging corner from the right and Baros rose unchallengd inside the six-yard box to head home his sixth Premiership goal of the season.

It was a similar story two-and-a-half minutes later when Riise delivered a deeper corner and goalkeeper David James came out to punch a half-hearted clearance. The ball fell to Gerrard just outside the area and he drilled a low shot inside the far post.

Victories yesterday for fellow strugglers Bolton and West Brom meant West Ham could have done with at least a point today, but their first defeat in six games at Upton Park left them still deep in trouble.

The game was almost put beyond West Ham’s reach after 15 minutes when Baros turned Glen Johnson on the right edge of the six-yard box and hit a low drive which flashed just wide of James’ far post.

James’ confidence appeared to be shot to pieces as he fluffed almost every clearance, and when the fans behind him in the Bobby Moore Stand began to boo, it hardly helped the cause.

West Ham enjoyed their first real moment of good fortune after 25 minutes when they won a free-kick just a yard outside the penalty area.

It came at the end of a good move as Paolo di Canio played the ball into Les Ferdinand and he laid it off to Michael Carrick, who was then barged from behind as he shot.

Lee Bowyer went for goal from the set-piece but curled his effort comfortably over Jerzy Dudek’s crossbar.

Another problem for the Hammers was that di Canio and Ferdinand kept narrowly mis-timing their runs forward against an alert back four and were continually halted by the offside flag.

Frederic Kanoute spent the entire half-time interval warming up and it was no surprise to see him enter the fray after 54 minutes in place of Ferdinand – a harsh change for the former Spurs striker who battled valiantly in the first half.

Kanoute was quickly into the action as after 57 minutes he hooked a shot over the bar. The big Frenchman then deserved a goal two minutes later as he almost finished a flowing move in style,

Sinclair nodding down and Kanoute again sweeping the ball over the crossbar.

Tomas Repka is known for his rushes of blood and he needlessly conceded a free-kick just inside his own half after 66 minutes by wrestling Baros to the ground.

Liverpool went on to win a corner and from that set-piece they wrapped up the three points with a goal from Heskey which highlighted the frail state of mind of James.

Riise delivered a deep cross, Sami Hyypia headed the ball back across the face of goal, and as James again made a half-hearted attempt to catch it Heskey had the authority to get there first and send a header spinning inside the near post.

West Ham should have pulled a goal back a minute later when Kanoute’s low cross from the right was somehow allowed to reach di Canio. He had only Dudek to beat, but he tried to be too precise and ended up having his shot blocked by the goalkeeper.

By the time the final whistle came, the stadium had been emptying fast and it was the Liverpool anthem of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” rather than “The Great Escape” which rang around a depressed Upton Park.