All the match stats

WANDERERS (4-4-2)

JUSSI JAASKELAINEN ... 7

Two important saves, first half from Defoe then late on from Kitson

BRUNO N'GOTTY ... 8

Showed his pedigree again with an impressive display - and not in his favoured position

GUDNI BERGSSON ... 8

Marshalled the back line superbly; touches of class and defiance in equal amounts

MIKE WHITLOW ... 8

'They shall not pass' was his motivation - and they didn't

SIMON CHARLTON ... 8

No signs of the knee injury that has plagued him in recent weeks

KEVIN NOLAN ... 6

Not at his best but worked hard in a scrapyard of a midfield

STIG TOFTING ... 8

What a debut! The little big man lived up to his "pocket battleship" reputation

PAUL WARHURST ... 6

Looked like his old self until the old trouble recurred and forced him out

RICARDO GARDNER ... 7

Great strike and some telling contributions, especially helping out at the back

FREDI BOBIC ... 6

Tireless in his efforts but still no chances to show his goalscoring talents

MICHAEL RICKETTS ... 6

Missed the chance of the game when he was head to head with James and rushed his shot

Subs: Nicky Southall (6) for Warhurst 45 mins, Dean Holdsworth for Ricketts 83 mins, Bo Hansen for Bobic 85 mins. Not used: Rod Wallace, Kevin Poole.

WEST HAM UTD (4-4-2)

DAVID JAMES ... 6

Little chance to show England credentials, virtually a spectator second half

SEBASTIAN SCHEMMEL ... 7

Had a busy afternoon on the right; offered support going forward

CHRISTIAN DAILLY ... 6

Missed the target with a second half free header - one of Hammers' best chances

HAYDEN FOXE ... 6

Careless use of that red head of his left Bobic and Whitlow nursing nasty bumps

SCOTT MINTO ... 6

Steady but a relatively quiet afternoon for the former Charlton man

RICHARD GARCIA ... 6

Might have marked his debut with a goal had he been more accurate with his header.

STEVE LOMAS ... 7

Always combative but was lucky to escape with just a yellow card when he "carted" Southall

JOE COLE ... 8

Nothing came off for the young England man but he never stopped trying

VLADIMIR LABANT ... 7

Posed the biggest threat with his corners and crosses from the left

FREDERIC KANOUTE ... 7

Looked dangerous, if at times a little clumsy, but was always closely marked

JERMAIN DEFOE ... 6

Tested Jaaskelainen early on but, for all his efforts, had no more chances

Subs: Paul Kitson for Garcia 77 mins. Not used: Sven Andersson, Steve Pots, Laurent Courtois, Grant McCann.

Referee: David Pugh (Wirral).

Attendance: 24,342.

Goal: Gardner 38 mins.

Shots/headers on target: Wanderers 3, Hammers 4. Corners: Wanderers 4, Hammers 11.

Offsides: Wanderers 2, Hammers 5.

Fouls committed: Wanderers 11, Hammers 11. Bookings: Wanderers - Warhurst 35 mins (foul on Garcia); Hammers - Foxe 8 mins (foul on Bobic), Kanoute 26 mins (foul on Whitlow), Lomas 80 mins (foul on Southall).

Man of the Match

BRUNO N'GOTTY

HIS pedigree in France and Italy suggests he is a quality defender and, although he prefers centre-back, he lived up to his immense reputation on the right of an impressively determined back line.

Moan of the Match

ONCE was excusable and it was probably just a coincidence when Fredi Bobic was left doubly dazed by a second whack but when Hayden Foxe claimed a hat-trick, "nutting" Mike Whitlow in exactly the same fashion it seemed the red-haired Australian was having serious difficulty distinguishing between a player's head and the ball. Not nice!

Magic Moment

IT wasn't the best of games by a long chalk and the fans were put through a nailbiting second half as West Ham hammered away in search of an equaliser but when referee David Pugh blew the final whistle, the relief of claiming that long-awaited Premiership win was heavenly.

KICK BY KICK

3 mins: Tofting's first foul.

11 mins: Jaaskelainen does well to keep out Labant's inswinging corner under pressure from Foxe.

12 mins: Tofting and N'Gotty play themselves into trouble and Jaaskelainen is forced to make a super save from Defoe's shot.

22 mins: Ricketts misses a copper-bottomed chance; sent clear by Tofting, he shoots too early and gives James an easy save.

31 mins: Bergsson is happy to concede a corner under pressure from Kanoute going for Schemmel's cross.

GOAL!

38 mins: Gardner hits a low left-footer through a sea of legs after Bobic and Whitlow get telling touches to Tofting's long throw. Half-time: Wanderers 1 Hammers 0

47 mins: Kanoute threatens but N'Gotty sees the danger and nips in ahead of Cole.

50 mins: Kanoute looks clumsy but his shot is effective, drifting inches wide of the angle with Jaaskelainen at full-stretch.

60 mins: Whitlow is pushed off the ball by Dailly but penalty appeals are turned down.

61 mins: Bobic meets Gardner's cross but fluffs his right foot volley.

62 mins: Wanderers escape as Garcia is first to Labant's corner but heads wide.

68 mins: Almost identically, Dailly gets a free header and he also fails to convert a Labant flag kick.

78 mins: Mr Pugh says "no penalty" again, this time when Kanoute goes down under Bergsson's challenge.

89 mins: It's Jaaskelainen to the rescue, saving and holding Kitson's close range header. Final: Wanderers 1 Hammers 0