Renewed hope for Hammers

Updated 18.27 Sat Apr 28 2007

Keywords: Premiership, Charlton, Wigan, Fulham, Sheffield United, West Ham

West Ham United have boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation with a 3-0 win at Wigan, but fellow strugglers Charlton suffered a huge blow in a 4-1 drubbing at Blackburn.

With two matches left to play and Watford already relegated, five clubs are seeking to avoid the final two relegation places: Sheffield United, Fulham, Wigan, West Ham and Charlton.

With two matches left to play and Watford already relegated, five clubs are seeking to avoid the final two relegation places

Sheffield United moved towards safety with a 1-0 win over doomed Watford that lifted them to 15th place on 38 points.

They are followed by Fulham, who have 36 points and three games left including Sunday's match at Arsenal, Wigan on 35 and ahead of West Ham on goal difference, Charlton on 33 and Watford with 24.

West Ham were playing a day after they were fined £5.5 million but avoided a points deduction for breaking Premier League rules over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano last August.

Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte scored his first goal for the club since joining from Fulham in January, finding the net from the edge of the area on the halfhour mark.

Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun hit a second in the 57th minute and Marlon Harewood added the third on the break to secure the east Londoners' fifth win in seven games - and their best win in the league this season.

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said: "We knew it was a game we had to win. It gives us great heart for next week. We're still alive."

Charlton paid for a nightmare four minutes in the second half, with Jason Roberts putting Blackburn ahead on the hour and then Charlton defender Ben Thatcher getting red-carded.

Though Charlton levelled through Darren Bent, an own goal by Hermann Hreidarsson, another Roberts strike and one from Matt Derbyshire gave Rovers a comfortable finish.

Sheffield United had an own goal by Watford's Chris Powell just before halftime to thank for a win that should keep Neil Warnock's men in the top-flight.

Warnock said: "It's a great feeling to get the result that we wanted."