Sears sends Hammers clear

A Ronald Zubar own goal and Freddie Sears effort saw West Ham climb off the bottom at Wolves' expense.

Hammers climb out of relegation zone for first time after vital win

A Ronald Zubar own goal and Freddie Sears effort saw West Ham climb off the bottom at Wolves' expense. Sears, who scored on his debut three seasons ago but had not found the net since, had an effort cleared off the line by Richard Stearman in a tight first half. After the break, Robert Green made several good saves to deny Wolves before Ronald Zubar turned Frederic Piquionne's cross from the right into his own net on 51 minutes after Carlton Cole had missed the ball. Wayne Hennessey pushed Matthew Upson's header onto the crossbar before Sylvan Ebanks-Blake headed against the crossbar at the other end as the game opened up. Sears then made sure of the points with 11 minutes to play when converting Tal Ben-Haim's cross from the right. The 21-year-old, a product of the club's academy and lifelong Hammers fan, struck from 15 yards for his first goal since March 2008. The victory saw Avram Grant's side climb out of the relegation zone for the first time this season - up to 15th - while Wolves sunk to the foot of the table. Grant made four changes to his team after their 1-1 draw with Everton, bringing back Cole, Ben-Haim, Danny Gabbidon and Junior Stanislas who all featured in the Boxing Day win at Fulham, while Wolves were unchanged following their success at Liverpool on Wednesday. Wolves went close when Stephen Hunt almost curled a corner from the right inside the near post, but Piquionne headed over his own bar.

Combined

Cole and Piquionne combined for the first time in the 10th minute, culminating in the latter lashing a 20-yard strike high and wide. With Hunt on the left and Matt Jarvis on the right, Wolves had plenty of quality, while Hammers wideman Stanislas was also heavily involved early on and the hosts might have benefited had his crossing been of a higher standard. Wolves won their fifth corner in the 19th minute and Hunt's delivery was a good one, culminating in Ebanks-Blake heading straight at Green. At the other end, Sears sidestepped Christophe Berra before drilling a left-footed shot which Hennessey dealt with comfortably. Cole should have scored after captain Scott Parker threaded a pass through the Wolves defence and into the striker's path, but the former Chelsea frontman made a hash of his finish from 10 yards and the ball bobbled wide of the left post. Piquionne and Stearman clashed off the ball just after the half-hour mark, when the French striker lashed out but escaped with a warning from referee Lee Probert. West Ham went close to taking the lead when Stearman, on the goal-line, booted away a firm shot from Sears. Wolves had the first opening of the second half when smart play from Hunt fed Ebanks-Blake. The striker's wayward shot took a deflection to bring about a corner, and then came a flurry of attempts on Green's goal, with the England keeper saving a Cole deflection, Berra header and a crisp left-footed strike from Stephen Ward before Nenad Milijas headed over from close range.

Bizarre circumstances

The visitors were then dealt a huge blow after 51 minutes when West Ham took the lead in bizarre circumstances. Piquionne sprinted down the right and sent over a cross which Cole ought to have smashed past Hennessey. The striker missed his kick, yet his blushes were spared by Zubar, with the ball trickling off the defender's knee and into the bottom right corner. Stearman was booked for a foul on Parker, with the crowd baying for a heavier punishment. Upson looked a certain scorer in the 61st minute when he met a corner from Parker, but Hennessey managed to turn his header against the crossbar. Mark Noble came off the bench to replace Stanislas after 69 minutes, and Wolves made a double switch when Steven Fletcher and David Edwards replaced George Elokobi and Hunt. Ebanks-Blake should have equalised after 76 minutes but planted his close-range header against the bar after Fletcher picked him out with a cross from the right. The cost of that miss was emphasised three minutes later when Sears steered Ben Haim's measured delivery from the right into the bottom left corner. Sears celebrated exuberantly in front of the joyous home fans, who after seeing Grant's side take eight points from a four-match unbeaten run can look forward to the rest of 2011 with growing optimism.

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Wolverhampton Wanderers
2	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	3
5	Shots off Target	8
1	Blocked Shots	5
5	Corners	10
10	Fouls	15
5	Offsides	0
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
71.5	Passing Success	66.7
12	Tackles	18
91.7	Tackles Success	88.9
47.1	Possession	52.9
45.9	Territorial Advantage	54.1