EPL: Stoke City 0-3 West Ham
West Ham overcome the Potters 3-0
Former Stoke forward Marko Arnautovic helped West Ham overcome the Potters 3-0 in a delayed kick-off at the bet365 Stadium.
A power failure meant fans were locked outside the stadium until close to the intended 3pm kick-off time, with the start eventually put back an hour.
As it happened, the natives were left wishing the power had stayed off as David Moyes' side ran out convincing winners.
Mark Noble scored from a controversial first-half penalty to give West Ham the advantage, with Arnautovic doubling the lead on 75 minutes before sub Diafra Sakho completed the scoring four minutes from the end.
Referee Graham Scott awarded West Ham a penalty after 18 minutes, with Manuel Lanzini going down in the box amid attention from Erik Pieters.
Potters boss Mark Hughes is sure to be frustrated by the decision, with Lanzini possibly heading for the deck before Pieters intervened. Noble was then forced off not long after the half hour, with teenager Declan Rice taking his place.
West Ham could have extended their advantage before half-time after a poor defensive header from Pieters gave Arnautovic a glorious chance on his former stomping ground, but Jack Butland denied him.
Stoke's best chance to restore parity came soon after the sides re-emerged, with Xherdan Shaqiri's free-kick met by Mame Biram Diouf, but his point-blank effort cleared the crossbar.
Arnautovic clipped the crossbar and spurned another solid chance before eventually getting his goal midway through the second half.
He exchanged a lovely one-two with Lanzini before firing the ball straight past Butland first time, much to the frustration of the Stoke followers. The Austrian went off soon afterwards to a chorus of abuse from the home support.
With four minutes left, Lanzini was again the provider for West Ham's third, setting up sub Sakho for the easiest of finishes to give Moyes three points and lift the Hammers out of the relegation zone.
As it happened, the natives were left wishing the power had stayed off as David Moyes' side ran out convincing winners.
Mark Noble scored from a controversial first-half penalty to give West Ham the advantage, with Arnautovic doubling the lead on 75 minutes before sub Diafra Sakho completed the scoring four minutes from the end.
Referee Graham Scott awarded West Ham a penalty after 18 minutes, with Manuel Lanzini going down in the box amid attention from Erik Pieters.
Potters boss Mark Hughes is sure to be frustrated by the decision, with Lanzini possibly heading for the deck before Pieters intervened. Noble was then forced off not long after the half hour, with teenager Declan Rice taking his place.
West Ham could have extended their advantage before half-time after a poor defensive header from Pieters gave Arnautovic a glorious chance on his former stomping ground, but Jack Butland denied him.
Stoke's best chance to restore parity came soon after the sides re-emerged, with Xherdan Shaqiri's free-kick met by Mame Biram Diouf, but his point-blank effort cleared the crossbar.
Arnautovic clipped the crossbar and spurned another solid chance before eventually getting his goal midway through the second half.
He exchanged a lovely one-two with Lanzini before firing the ball straight past Butland first time, much to the frustration of the Stoke followers. The Austrian went off soon afterwards to a chorus of abuse from the home support.
With four minutes left, Lanzini was again the provider for West Ham's third, setting up sub Sakho for the easiest of finishes to give Moyes three points and lift the Hammers out of the relegation zone.