West Ham moved out of the Premier League bottom three after a 1-0 win over Southampton in a nervy game at the London Stadium.
Nayef Aguerd got the only goal of the game as the hosts picked up a vital win in their bid to remain in the top flight.
After this result, the Hammers move up to 14th place in the table; meanwhile, Southampton remain rooted to the bottom.
In what could be a damaging defeat for the Saints, they are three points behind 17th placed Leeds United.
They have also played a game more than the rest of the bottom 12, besides Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers, which will be a worry for the South coast side as they try to avoid their first season outside the Premier League since the 2011/12 campaign.
Story Of The Match
This was a game with one main talking point: battling to survive in what is appearing to be all-time great Premier League relegation battle.
With Crystal Palace and Bournemouth winning, both teams knew that a win would be vital. This is especially so with the 1-1 draw between Nottingham Forest and Wolves, as well Leeds and Leicester losing - a result which costed Brendan Rodgers his job.
With a lot of stake, it was easy to see what this was not set to be a vintage performance from either team. West Ham dominated early possession but failed to get a stranglehold on the game.
However, with their first attempt on goal, Aguerd’s header gave the hosts the lead.
Aguerd got on the end of a free kick from full back Thilo Kehrer, but the goal was initially ruled out for offside. After the lengthiest of VAR checks, it was in fact deemed onside as the Hammers drew first blood in this relegation six pointer.
Łukasz Fabiański prevented an immediate response from Southampton’s Romain Perraud, but this was as good as it got for the Saints in the first half as both teams ended it with only one shot on target each.
That said there was some other action, as Saïd Benrahma had an effort go over the bar, Mohamed Elyounoussi saw a cross force Fabianski into a save and Jarrod Bowen’s curling effort hit the bar.
Nervy second half
The second half saw more of the same, as both teams enjoyed periods of possession without any clear-cut chances. In fact, it took until the 62nd minute for there to be a shot on target in the second half, when Roméo Lavia’s shot was denied by Fabianski.
West Ham kept going, as Benrahma’s excellent free kick was stopped by Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, and Lucas Paquetá failed to keep the ball down enough to threaten Bazunu at the near post.
In a game that was running away from Southampton, Ward-Prowse sent in a cross which was met by substitute Paul Onuachu, whose header then hit the crossbar.
However, for Southampton, they could not find the equaliser they desired and failed to cause any danger in injury time as the full time whistle was blown.
Player Of The Match: Jarrod Bowen
In a game that was hard to stand out in, Bowen was heavily involved in this game and most of the Hammer's attacks. He had several chances to double West Ham’s lead in this game, only to be denied by resolute Southampton defending.
In a season for Bowen that has not lived up to the heights of 2021/22, he has not scored since January 21stand has not had any goal involvement since February 25th. Despite not getting his goal today, he was everywhere and caused the most threat to the Southampton defence.
In a crucial time of the season, a performance like this will only help Bowen and his West Ham teammates when it really matters.
