Andy Carroll continued his barnstorming form for West Ham, netting the first-half double that consigned Middlesbrough to another dispiriting Premier League defeat at the Riverside on Saturday.
Carroll, fresh from his brilliant strike against Crystal Palace, once again made Hammers fans forget the controversy over their absent former hero Dimitri Payet as he delivered more delight for his under-pressure manager Slaven Bilic with a bullet header from a corner after nine minutes.
Then after Cristhian Stuani had brought Middlesbrough back into the game with a brilliant team goal, Carroll turned from destroyer into poacher as he snaffled a second just before the break in a frenetic game.
Boro cursed their luck after Stuani hit the bar and Rudy Gestede squandered a late chance but the Hammers sealed a fifth win in seven league matches when substitute Jonathan Calleri scored in the 94th minute.
After his special strike the previous weekend – the amazing bicycle kick volley that stunned Palace – West Ham had been counting on more of the same from Carroll, who had recovered from a whiplash injury suffered in the same game.
With no Payet in the squad again as the Frenchman’s stand-off with the club continued, England striker Carroll soon appeared in the mood to hog the headlines again as the Hammers, cheered on by their 3,000-strong army of fans, looked like the home side in the opening exchanges.
Michail Antonio had sliced one volleyed opportunity wide when West Ham won a ninth-minute corner and, from Manuel Lanzini’s inswinging corner, Carroll crashed a header into the Boro net from close range with the same sort of ferocity he had shown with his now-enshrined acrobatic volley.
INTRICATE MOVE
The goal sparked an entertaining game, with Boro, who had won only one of their last seven league matches, hitting back strongly and levelling matters in the 27th minute when they put together a delightfully sharp and intricate team move.
Neat flicks and slick movement ended with Calum Chambers forging down the right flank to provide a pinpoint cross for Stuani to side-foot into the net at the far post.
Middlesbrough began to dominate amid a frenetic period before the break with the lively Adama Traore causing havoc with his pace and deliveries down Boro’s right flank.
Yet against the run of play two minutes before halftime, Victor Valdes got down well to save a shot from Antonio but Carroll snapped into action, gobbling up the rebound.
Soon after the interval, Bilic ended up beating his hands in frustration after Lanzini struck a tame finish into Valdes’s arms when one-on-one with the keeper, a chance which could have sealed victory there and then.
Yet Middlesbrough were soon left cursing their luck when an attempted Aaron Cresswell clearance hit Stuani and looped up against the West Ham bar.
Boro’s defenders were glad to see the back of Carroll when he was substituted in the second half, presumably as a precaution following his whiplash injury, after the big striker had done such sterling work not just in attack but also on defensive duty.
Boro gave a debut to their former loanee Patrick Bamford, signed from Chelsea in midweek, in the last 10 minutes but once another of their January signings Gestede had missed an opportunity, it was the Hammers who struck on the counter.
In stoppage time, Calleri, Carroll’s replacement, scored his first goal for the club, which spelt bad news for home manager Aitor Karanka, who is in danger of seeing his side sucked right back into the relegation zone as they lie 16th following only one win in their last eight matches.
