Trevor Sinclair eased West Ham's relegation worries and left Everton deep in trouble with a goal he knew very little about.

The England winger, playing in a central midfield position in the absence of the injured Michael Carrick, deflected Joe Cole's shot past helpless Everton goalkeeper Steve Simonsen after 57 minutes to settle a scrappy encounter.

It was the Hammers' fifth consecutive victory at Upton Park, and it is home form which is keeping Glenn Roeder's men safely above the relegation places.

Everton battled hard but have not won on the road since the opening day of the season, at Charlton, and their major problem as they sit just one point above the drop zone is that they lack a regular goalscorer.

There were very few clear-cut chances for either team as both defences did well, and the goal which secured the points was rough luck on the visitors.

It came at the end of a neat passing move which saw Paolo di Canio run with the ball before passing inside to Sinclair, who helped it out wide to Vladimir Labant on the left.

Labant played the ball back inside to Cole, on the edge of the box, and he stepped inside and hit a fierce low drive. Simonsen appeared to have it covered, but he could do nothing as the ball struck Sinclair on the leg and flew inside his near post.

It was 15 minutes before the first bit of excitement lifted the home fans, and it came after di Canio cleared an Everton corner.

The Italian released strike partner Frederic Kanoute on a charge down the left flank, but Lee Carsley stopped him in his tracks with a good covering tackle.

A minute later, Hammers left-back Nigel Winterburn tried his luck from 25 yards, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

The first real chance of the game came after 18 minutes when Sinclair released Kanoute down the right and he slotted a quick ball inside to Sebastien Schemmel in the box.

The French defender tried his luck from the angle and his shot was deflected inches over the bar by Alan Stubbs.

At the other end, Carsley tried a snapshot from the edge of the box after 22 minutes but it was a comfortable first save of the game for David James in the West Ham goal.

West Ham made another good break after 25 minutes with di Canio, but the skipper was too selfish in going it alone when Kanoute offered a good option, and he was tackled by David Unsworth.

That did not affect Kanoute who played a good ball into di Canio three minutes later, and his shot was deflected over the bar. When the corner came over from the right, Stubbs made an important clearing header under pressure at the far post from Ian Pearce.

West Ham tried to build again and on the half-hour mark Sinclair hit a low drive from 25 yards which flew into the body of Simonsen.

Di Canio brought the home fans to their feet a minute later with a cheeky chip from 10 yards after spotting Simonsen slightly off his line, but the ball was a good couple of yards over the bar.

Niclas Alexandersson picked out Kevin Campbell with a cross from the right after 37 minutes but he headed straight at James.

There was an explosive to the second half as within 13 seconds di Canio charged down Simonsen's attempted clearance and the loose ball was heading towards Kanoute with the goal at his mercy.

But David Weir made a vital interception and conceded a corner rather than a goal.

The turning point came after 57 minutes as Sinclair claimed his fourth goal of the season, and that was to prove enough.

Everton's woes continued after 62 minutes when Campbell was helped off with an ankle injury.

He was replaced by David Ginola, and although the Frenchman made some dangerous runs it was West Ham who were able to celebrate and breathe a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle.

Teams

West Ham: James, Schemmel (Garcia 81), Dailly, Pearce, Repka, Winterburn, Sinclair, Cole, Labant, Kanoute (Defoe 84), Di Canio.

Subs Not Used: Hislop, Minto, Kitson.

Goals: Sinclair 59.

Everton: Simonsen, Pistone, Stubbs, Weir, Unsworth, Alexandersson (Gravesen 68), Blomqvist, Gemmill, Carsley (Linderoth 68), Campbell (Ginola 63), Radzinski.

Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Clarke.

Booked: Gemmill, Blomqvist, Pistone.

Att: 29,883

Ref: B Knight (Orpington).