Hammers edging towards safety

West Ham hauled themselves out of the Barclays Premier League drop zone with a 3-0 win as Stoke pressed the self-destruct button at Upton Park.

The Hammers made it back-to-back league wins for the first time in more than a year to stay on course to complete the 'great escape' from relegation.

Striker Demba Ba was gifted his fourth goal in just five appearances after a calamitous Stoke mix-up, the recalled Manuel da Costa made it 2-0 and Thomas Hitzlsperger smashed in a late third to inflict a club record sixth straight away league defeat on the visitors.

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