Craig Bellamy produced a second-half masterclass to give West Ham a much-needed win at Fratton Park.
In-demand striker shows his class
Craig Bellamy produced a second-half masterclass to stun Portsmouth and give West Ham a much-needed win at Fratton Park.
Nadir Belhadj's opener for Pompey was cancelled out by Jack Collison and although ex-Hammer Jermain Defoe missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time, the home side remained in charge after the restart.
But then Bellamy showed exactly why he has become the subject of a transfer bid by Tottenham by turning the game in the visitors' favour.
First he played a key role in Carlton Cole's 67th-minute strike before scoring himself four minutes later.
The Wales international then claimed a brace late on to seal the Hammers' first win in five and lift them away from 17th place.
Pompey remain 10th and although this was a third straight defeat for manager Tony Adams, they could have secured the three points before Bellamy's decisive intervention.
Lively start
West Ham had never won a Premier League game against Portsmouth but they dominated the early exchanges, with Bellamy curling a free-kick over after Collison was scythed down by Sol Campbell.
The Hammers' early pressure did not produce a goal however, and Portsmouth settled their nerves with the opener after eight minutes.
Left-back Belhadj started and finished a fine sweeping move, his cross-field pass finding Little, who launched a high cross to Peter Crouch at the far post.
The tall striker deftly plucked the ball from the air and pulled back to Belhadj, who slammed home his second goal of the season.
Collison's shot minutes later was deflected wide, but the midfielder made no mistake with West Ham's equaliser midway through the half.
Cole latched on to Scott Parker's quick free-kick on the left and crossed low to Collison, whose first-time shot went through the legs of an unsighted David James.
The visitors have not scored more than one goal in a game for 12 league fixtures and their goalscoring problems were evident towards the end of the first half.
Portsmouth enjoyed the better chances, with Defoe turning sharply before shooting wide and Crouch forcing a good reaction save from Robert Green with a far-post volley.
Sean Davis' volley on the half-hour mark was even more impressive. The midfielder struck Belhadj's cross first time on the edge of the box, but Green was equal to it, blocking well with his legs.
At the other end, Mark Noble missed a great opportunity after Bellamy stole in between James and Campbell. The young midfielder tried to chip a backpedalling Campbell, who comfortably headed clear.
Penalty miss
Portsmouth were awarded a penalty just before the break when Lucas Neill fouled Crouch, but the spot-kick from Defoe, who has not scored in six games, smacked of a player lacking confidence and went wide of Green's right post.
The hosts wasted no time in registering their first effort on goal after the interval with Crouch shooting straight at Green from close range.
The England man was at it again minutes later but was off target this time, sidefooting over from Belhadj's cross, and Niko Kranjcar was equally wasteful when he blasted over from the right.
West Ham responded with a close-range effort from Collison which James repelled, and from the resulting corner Matthew Upson's looping header bounced out off the top of the crossbar.
Defoe proved he was not dwelling on his penalty miss when he beat two players and raced into the box, but his fierce shot was caught by Green.
The missed opportunities proved costly when Bellamy crossed to Collison from the left and after the midfielder's shot came back off the far post, Cole was well placed to stab home.
Pompey full-back Marc Wilson headed against a post shortly after on his Premier League debut but just 17 seconds later Bellamy gave the Hammers a two-goal cushion.
West Ham broke and Belhadj's needless challenge gifted Bellamy a run at goal, and although James got a hand on the ball, Bellamy regained possession and composed himself before firing past the covering defenders.
Bellamy added gloss to the scoreline with his second goal late on, providing a neat finish to Luis Boa Morte's low cross in the 83rd minute.
| Portsmouth |
Team Statistics |
West Ham United |
| 1 |
Goals |
4 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
7 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 9 |
Corners |
5 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
7 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 82.7 |
Passing Success |
77.8 |
| 29 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 82.8 |
Tackles Success |
90.6 |
| 58.2 |
Possession |
41.8 |
| 64.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
35.1 |
|
