Marlon Harewood's 12th Coca-Cola Championship goal of the season kept West
Ham's play-off bid on track at the expense of struggling Gillingham.
Harewood's 13th-minute strike - West Ham's first ever goal at the Priestfield
Stadium - earned the Londoners a third successive win for the first time this
season and left their hosts marooned in the bottom three.
Hammers boss Alan Pardew was forced to shuffle his midfield with Hayden
Mullins, Mark Noble and Sergei Rebrov all picking up knocks during Saturday's
5-0 win over Plymouth - Steve Lomas, Matthew Etherington and Nigel Reo-Coker
coming in.
Gillingham, unchanged from the side which drew 2-2 with Wolves at the weekend,
might have taken the lead when Darius Henderson's header just eluded the
outstretched foot of Darren Byfield and drifted wide.
But they fell behind moments later when Mike Flynn was caught in possession
just inside his own half.
Etherington, making his first start since January 3 following groin surgery,
beat Nicky Southall down the left and fired the ball across the face of goal for
Harewood to bundle past Banks.
Andrew Crofts saw a snap-shot well saved by Stephen Bywater, and the Hammers
goalkeeper also had to get down well to keep out Henderson's low free-kick as
the Gills pressed for a leveller.
But West Ham survived 10 minutes of concerted first-half pressure before Bobby
Zamora fluffed the chance to double their advantage, planting his header
straight at Banks from Reo-Coker's cross.
Paul Smith sent a curler inches over the West Ham bar shortly after the break,
but moments later the hosts were almost two behind when Harewood's 20-yard shot
forced a fine save from Banks.
Henderson then knocked a free header over the bar from substitute John Hills'
cross, but West Ham were beginning to take control of the proceedings - having
replaced Etherington and Zamora with Teddy Sheringham and youngster Chris
Cohen.
Sheringham rattled the bar with a trademark curling free-kick following a foul
on Cohen, and the Gillingham defence just managed to clear the resulting
goalmouth scramble.
The Hammers were given a warning when Matt Jarvis just failed to get a touch
on Smith's cross-shot - and as Gillingham piled forward in the closing minutes,
Jarvis forced another save from Bywater.
But Pardew's men held on in the snow for a hard-fought three points.
Teams:
Gillingham Banks, Southall, Ashby, Cox, Nosworthy, Jarvis,
Smith, Flynn (Pouton 65), Crofts (Spiller 65), Henderson,
Byfield (Hills 57).
Subs Not Used: Bossu, Beckwith.
West Ham Bywater, Repka, Ferdinand, Mackay, Powell,
Reo-Coker (Williams 80), Lomas, Fletcher,
Etherington (Sheringham 45), Harewood, Zamora (Cohen 63).
Subs Not Used: Walker, McClenahan.
Goals: Harewood 13.
Att: 9,510
Ref: P Crossley (Kent).
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