West Ham might appear outsiders in the top-four race but they are not going away. Under David Moyes they always find a way to hang in there, and that is what happened here: victory over Wolves was vital for their chances and they came away with an entirely deserved three points. Moyes punched the air with both fists at full-time and may feel that, by beating a close rival in the table, his players have put a frustrating spell to bed.
Any other outcome would have flattered a blunt and largely passive Wolves whose performance did not, to the less trained eye, match Bruno Lage’s estimation. West Ham should have scored at least once either side of Tomas Soucek’s winner, which happened to arise after their least convincing spell, and showed far more of the energy that had sapped in recent weeks.
