West Ham 2-0 Norwich: Late Goals Secure Vital Hammers Win

By Josh Challies /

A late double was enough to seal all three points for West Ham as they defeated Norwich City in an important relegation clash at Upton Park. Collins' header six minutes from time gave the Hammers the lead and Mohamed Diame sealed the victory with a deflected finish on the counter-attack. Norwich City got the games opening chance after eight minutes when Gary Hooper rose to meet Nathan Redmond's cross and headed towards goal, forcing a brilliant save from Adrian. The keeper was at it again shortly after when Redmond chipped a ball over the top to Robert Snodgrass but he was thwarted by the heroics of Adrian, desperate to keep a fourth consecutive clean sheet. West Ham barely had a sniff in the opening stages but 25 minutes in Mark Noble forced John Ruddy into a save with an effort from distance, though it was an easy collection for the England international. As the game edged towards the interval the Canaries had another chance to take the lead when Alexander Tettey struck a shot but once again Adrian was there. West Ham introduced Marco Borriello for the second half in place of Carlton Cole, as they chased down a goal that would put them on course for their third consecutive victory. Mohamed Diame was later thrown into the mix in place of Matt Jarvis with tensions around Upton Park beginning to rise and the fans furious at some of the decisions made by referee Michael Oliver. Adrian was again forced into action with another great when Hooper found himself through on goal as Norwich pressed forward. The Hammers, on the other hand, were struggling to muster any sort of attacking move. Ruddy could've been forgiven for daydreaming but he showed he was alert when he pulled off a great save to deny Diame, who had the goal at his mercy. With six minutes to go the Hammers finally found an opening. A quick free-kick was played out wide, where Diame whipped a perfect ball in to the head of James Collins who made no mistake with his finish and gave his side an important lead. A counter-attack late on saw West Ham double their advantage as Diame's deflected shot left Ruddy unable to do anything. The win puts West Ham in tenth position and five points above Sunderland, who currently occupy the final relegation place. Norwich are now just a single point above the drop zone and sit 16th in the table.