Goals at either end of the game from Frederic Piquionne and Carlton Cole were enough for West Ham to come out on top in the clash of promotion hopefuls at the Riverside this evening.
Frenchman Piquionne headed home Mark Noble's centre in the ninth minute to give the visitors the lead.
Both Scott McDonald and Marvin Emnes looked lively for the hosts, with the former forcing a smart stop from Rob Green midway through the first half.
Sam Allardyce's side held out in the second period before Cole's counter-attack effort in the dying embers of stoppage time and are now hunting down Southampton at the Championship's summit.
The Hammers distance themselves from third place Cardiff but remain three points adrift the league-leading Saints while Tony Mowbray's Middesbrough remain fourth.
Pascal Lemesre
