West Brom came within inches of a victory at Upton Park that would have breathed life into their Barclays Premier League survival fight.

Shelton Martis hit the bar at Upton Park and Jonathan Greening missed the clearest chance of a lifeless clash - and Tony Mowbray's men will consider the stalemate as two points dropped.

The draw moved them six points from safety but it could so easily have been a first top-flight win in London after 10 failed attempts.

Gianfranco Zola's men, on the other hand, missed the chance to get closer to sixth place.

They also had the chance to win three league matches in a row for the first time since their unlikely relegation escape two years ago when Carlos Tevez guided them to safety.

On the day that saga was declared over - with the Hammers and Sheffield United finally coming to an agreement - it looked like the Baggies were at the start of staging an amazing recovery.

But in terms of entertainment, it was abysmal.

Marc-Antoine Fortune, playing in attack on his own for the visitors, smashed an effort into the side-netting but that was the sum total of the early chances.

The Baggies had gone eight previous games without a clean sheet so Mowbray tried a new centre-back pairing - Jonas Olsson returned from a knee injury and Martis was given his first top-flight start.

Mowbray's selection appeared to tighten his defence, although it made for dull football.

Predictably, the first talking point came from a set-piece, after Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green needlessly conceded a corner when the ball was drifting out for a goal-kick midway though the opening period.

Chris Brunt's set-piece was aimed at the far post where Paul Robinson went to ground under a challenge from Lucas Neill - but referee Mark Halsey awarded a goal-kick.

James Morrison created the first genuine chance of the match after Gianni Zuiverloon won the ball in midfield. Morrison charged forward, breezing past James Tomkins and Neill before Green bravely saved his finish.

The hosts were merely looking to contain West Brom at this stage and the task was not made any easier when Matthew Upson was carried off on a stretcher after picking up an injury, with Jonathan Spector coming on.

Carlton Cole supplied 11 goals this season before picking up his second red card of the campaign - and Freddie Sears was given the chance to fill the void left by Zola's suspended first-choice striker.

Hammers youngster Sears had an effort blocked by Martis and another deflected onto the roof of the net before the half-time whistle.

Despite Sears' efforts, West Brom would have felt they had the better of the first 45 minutes - and they should have been ahead 10 minutes after the restart.

Brunt made a yard of room for himself on the left flank and his cross was headed against the crossbar by Martis, with Green requiring treatment for a head injury he picked up while attempting to save.

Savio Nsereko went on an exciting run but finished it with a shot that almost went for a throw, then he got booked for a sliding challenge on Morrison as the Baggies midfielder raided down the right flank.

It was the last contribution the youngster made as Zola brought on Junior Stanislas for the final quarter, replacing the player he bought in a £9million deal in January.

Greening was off target with his glorious opportunity with 19 minutes remaining, accepting Morrison's pass and waiting for Green to commit but chipping his finish over the crossbar.

Teams

West Ham Green, Neill, Tomkins, Upson (Spector 29), Ilunga, Noble (Boa Morte 82), Kovac, Parker, Nsereko (Stanislas 68), Di Michele, Sears.

Subs Not Used: Lastuvka, Lopez, Tristan, Payne.

Booked: Nsereko.

West Brom Carson, Zuiverloon, Martis, Olsson, Robinson, Morrison (Filipe Teixeira 88), Koren, Dorrans, Greening, Brunt (Simpson 80), Fortune (Moore 80).

Subs Not Used: Kiely, Hoefkens, Cech, Bednar.

Booked: Olsson.

Att: 40,842

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).