West Ham 3 West Brom 1 - match report

Two goals from Andy Carroll either side of a Gary O'Neil strike put the Hammers 3-0 ahead as Albion failed to show up in the East End.

A late Graham Dorrans penalty gave the Baggies a hint of respectability but they paid the price for their worst display in several months.

And Mulumbu got himself sent off inexplicably in stoppage time for hammering the ball at O'Neil.

The Hammers made a bright start but it was the Baggies who had the first real chances.

First Graham Dorrans raced away on the counter-attack and tried his luck with a shot that was spilled by Jussi Jaaskelainen for a corner, although the unmarked Shane Long was screaming for a cross at the far post.

And from the resulting flag-kick, taken by Chris Brunt, Shane Long forced the ball over the line but Gareth McAuley was penalised for an earlier foul on Jaaskelainen.

Albion were then denied brilliantly by Jaaskelainen when a Romelu Lukaku free-kick took a huge deflection towards goal, only for the giant Finn to push it onto the post.

But the Baggies were behind on 16 minutes.

Gary O'Neill whipped in an inviting corner but Carroll was given too much room to charge in and out-jump Jonas Olsson to thunder home a header.

And it should have been 2-0 to the hosts moments later when the Baggies failed to deal with a James Collins free-kick and the ball dropped for Matt Jarvis, who somehow lifted a right-footed shot over the crossbar with just Ben Foster to beat.

The second goal came on 28 minutes, however, as the Baggies were sliced apart by a Hammers counter-attack.

Mohamed Diame broke through midfield and fed Ricardo Vaz Te. He picked out O'Neil, whose shoot looped over Foster off Jonas Olsson.

Albion made a positive start to the second half and they went close when Lukaku turned smartly on the edge of the box and hit a curling right-footed shot that flew narrowly off target.

The Baggies still struggled for cohesion, although they were unlucky not to reduce the arrears on 66 minutes, when Billy Jones made a fantastic burst forward from right-back.

He found himself in the box but saw his shot parried by Jaaskelainen.

With 18 minutes remaining, Albion boss Steve Clarke made a double-change with Peter Odemwingie and Markus Rosenberg introduced from the bench.

The arrival of Odemwingie for his first appearance since his latest Twitter outburst brought boos from home fans and abuse from visiting Baggies supporters.

But had added some extra spark immediately, weaving through two challenges and seeing a shot blocked before cutting in from the right and testing Jaaskelainen with another effort.

With 10 minutes remaining Carroll wrapped up the points as he produced a fine finish to make it 3-0.

He ghosted between defenders Gareth McAuley and Jonas Olsson to meet a Collins free-kick and volley into the bottom corner.

With three minutes remaining the Baggies got on the scoresheet as Lukaku was bundled over by substitute Matt Taylor and Dorrans rifled the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

But Mulumbu completed the Baggies' misery in stoppage time, needlessly hammering the ball at Gary O'Neil to earn himself a straight red card and a three-match ban – despite referee Andre Mariner awarding a free-kick to the visitors.

By Steve Madeley