West Ham suffered yet another away defeat in this afternoon's big London derby at Chelsea.
Geremi's 23rd minute free-kick was enough to seperate the sides after an exciting 90 minutes of football at Stamford Bridge, and extend West Ham's miserable run of away defeats to eight games in all competitions.The Hammers - who went into the game with Carlos Tevez (pictured above) restored to the starting eleven, although in an unfamiliar role on the right of midfield - more than matched the reigning Premiership champions over the course of the game, although still failed to force a single meaningful save out of Carlo Cudicini - despite enjoying more possession in the final third than they would have perhaps expected.
Referee for the day Mike Dean is no stranger to controversy when it comes to West Ham, so it was perhaps not surprising that a contentious decision was at the heart of the game's only goal.
Hayden Mullins went down under a two-footed challenge in the middle of the park midway through the first half, but Dean decided that the challenge was legitimate and allowed play to continue.
The resulting ball eventually found it's way to Didier Drogba who went down with comparative ease when challenged by Danny Gabbidon.
This time Dean has no hesitation in calling a foul - which Chelsea's Geremi duly despatched into Rob Green's top left-hand corner from 20 yards.
United continued to press forward undetered, and towards the end of the half created one or two chances which could have provided an equaliser.
However a good block from Nigel Reo-Coker's close range effort followed by Matthew Etherington's shot which narrowly missed the target ensured the home side retained their slender advantage at the break.
The second half began with the home side starting the stronger, and Danny Gabbidon - who had another excellent game at the heart of defence - did particularly well to clear one effort off the line.
As the game pressed on, United began to find a little more space through Etherington and Tevez on the flanks; however Chelsea's defence stood strong and restricted the Hammers to a handful of half chances. Had some of West Ham's final balls been a tad more precise, things could have been different.
Chelsea had the ball in the net for a second time in the closing stages but Drogba was (correctly) ruled offside. Just minutes earlier the African had sought to gain advantage by using his arm to control the ball and forge a goalscoring opportunity; an infringement ruled unworthy of a booking by referee Dean, who had booked Carlos Tevez moments earlier for a minor foul on the halfway line.
Next up for the Hammers comes a vital clash against fellow strugglers Sheffield United, who went down at home to Manchester United today. It's perhaps a little earlier to deem that one a six-pointer, although another defeat could have serious consequences come next May.
The defeat leaves United in 16th place in the table, a point above the relegation slots. Somewhat fortuitiously a surprise 1-1 draw for Newcastle at Arsenal was the only point gained by the league's bottom five teams this afternoon.
West Ham United: Green, Spector, Konchesky, Gabbison, Ferdinand, Mullins, Bowyer (Sheringham), Reo-Coker, Tevez, Etherington (McCartney), Zamora (Harewood).
Subs not used: Kiraly, Dailly.
Referee: Mike Dean.
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