Hammers claim crucial win

West Ham beat bottom side Portsmouth 2-0 at Upton Park to climb out of the Premier League drop-zone.

Diamanti penalty and Kovac header seal points

An Alessandro Diamanti penalty and Radoslav Kovac header proved the difference as West Ham beat bottom side Portsmouth to climb out of the Premier League drop-zone. The home side, who started the day second from bottom, got the crucial first goal when substitute Luis Jimenez was fouled in the box and Diamanti despatched the spot-kick after 23 minutes. Soon after the break, Pompey keeper Asmir Begovic pulled off a fantastic save to deny a deflected shot from Diamanti, while substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng went close at the other end. But Kovac made sure of the points when heading home a Jimenez free-kick with a minute to go. Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola will be hoping this will be a repeat of last year's Boxing Day win over Pompey as his side then went on a decent run in the second half of the season. Pompey had never lost at West Ham's ground in the Premier League but they never looked like continuing that run with this feeble effort. To make matters worse for Pompey boss Avram Grant, he now loses several players because of the African Cup of Nations, not that they made much of an impact here. Grant's men came into the match off the back of a morale-boosting victory over Liverpool and there was a mood of optimism during the week. The Hammers also had a decent result in their previous game, a 1-1 home draw against Chelsea, but it did not mean this clash was any sort of spectacle.

Nervous

Both sides were nervous, struggled to keep possession and gave a clear explanation as to why they started the festive period 19th and 20th in the table. The first significant moment came when Zola was forced into a change, in the 16th minute, when Mark Noble needed treatment for a knock, with attack-minded Jimenez coming on for his first appearance since scoring against Burnley in November. With chances not being created, referee Lee Probert was kept busy, firstly by Aruna Dindane's fouls on Diamanti, while Scott Parker earned a yellow. Michael Brown also went in the book for a knee into Parker's thigh. With the tackles flying in, it was no surprise that a mis-timed challenge led to West Ham's 23rd minute opener. The move started with Julien Faubert's ball forward for Parker, Younes Kaboul failing to clear when he had a chance and Guillermo Franco getting blocked from his route to goal. It fell invitingly for Jimenez, who appeared to be tripped by former Hammers midfielder Hayden Mullins, as well as Brown. Probert pointed to the spot and Diamanti confidently tucked away the penalty, taking his overall tally for the season to five, with three goals in his last three games. Jack Collison almost took advantage of a quick free-kick to double the lead but the Welshman volleyed over the crossbar. He then fired just wide from close range in first-half stoppage-time when Parker pulled the ball back from the byline.

Second period

Grant needed to change things drastically so brought on Boateng, who had been struggling with a virus ahead of the match, for Nadir Belhadj at the start of the second half. It did not take long for Dindane to be replaced either after his woeful first half, with Kanu being brought on. But Pompey could have fallen further behind two minutes after the restart when Diamanti's angled drive deflected off Steve Finnan and Begovic, in goal as David James is still nursing a calf complaint, had to pull off a fine save. Diamanti then also went close with a cheeky long-range lob from just inside his own half. Boateng caused the hosts problems and almost embarrassed Herita Ilunga when the Hammers full-back left a ball for Robert Green to collect. Boateng took the ball away from the goalkeeper and defender but Ilunga did well to get back and deflect his finish wide. Pompey striker Frederic Piquionne had an effort saved late on, while Collison and Behrami both went close for the hosts before Kovac headed home Jimenez's free-kick a minute from full-time to seal the vital victory.

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Portsmouth
2	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
6	Shots on Target	3
8	Shots off Target	5
2	Blocked Shots	6
6	Corners	4
9	Fouls	21
2	Offsides	4
0	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
74	Passing Success	74
26	Tackles	19
73.1	Tackles Success	68.4
51.1	Possession	48.9
45.7	Territorial Advantage	54.3