West Ham United 1 Wolves 0

Last updated : 02 October 2004 By Footymad Previewer

Having played in last Sunday's defeat at Nottingham Forest and the midweek draw with Derby County, a third game inside seven days was seen as a bridge too far for Sheringham by his manager, Alan Pardew.

And how the Hammers - skippered by 20-year-old Nigel Reo-Coker for the first time - could have done with their rested, veteran striker in the opening stages as both Marlon Harewood and Bobby Zamora sent early efforts well wide.

Indeed, with little to cheer the West Ham fans soon resorted to boos and taunted Paul Ince whose acrimonious transfer to Manchester United 15 years ago has neither been forgotten nor forgiven in the East End.

But the Wolves skipper could have taken the jeers to another level when he charged on to a bobbling ball and sent a powerful, rising 12-yard volley inches over the crossbar.

Midway through the half, West Ham looked to have taken the lead when Harewood unselfishly invited his strike-partner Zamora to stroke home from eight yards, but the effort was ruled out by an offside flag.

As the half-hour mark approached, on-loan Calum Davenport met Matthew Etherington's corner with a thumping header that Michael Oakes brilliantly pawed out from under his right-hand angle.

Wolves were still playing with a confidence belying their 19th-place position and after Seyi Olofinjana tested Stephen Bywater from all of 40 yards.

Kenny Miller then saw his clever shot-on-the-turn tipped on to his right-hand post by Bywater.

From the resulting corner, Hammers broke up field where Reo-Coker wastefullydragged his angled shot across the face of the goal to ensure that it remained goalless at the break.

The frustrated Pardew made a double substitution at the break, replacing wide boys Etherington and Luke Chadwick with Sergei Rebrov and Steve Lomas.

But still it was the incensed Ince who was in the thick of things, firstly forcing Bywater to save his stinging 20-yarder at the second attempt, and then antagonising the crowd with his vehement protests following a midfield clash with Rebrov that left him needing treatment.

On the hour, Pardew played his third and final card with the introduction of Sheringham at the expense of Zamora and the veteran striker was to prove the ace in the pack.

With just a quarter-hour remaining, the 38-year-old, 51-times capped England international robbed Joleon Lescott, and struck a low 18-yarder beyond the sprawling Oakes and into the bottom right-hand corner to give Hammers victory with his sixth goal of the season.