SOCCER/West Ham Utd 1 Liverpool 2: It was only eight months ago that West Ham came within a minute of beating Liverpool in the FA Cup final, but how much more distant that match seemed last night.

Defeated by the same opponents, the Hammers remain in the relegation zone and show little sign of plotting a way out. They have gone seven games without a win, a run that cannot continue through February when their games are against Aston Villa, Watford and Charlton.

Some West Ham fans chanted "We want our money back" after Liverpool had scored 10 seconds into the second half and then shortly after to secure a fifth straight Premiership win and move within two points of Chelsea having played a match more.

Liverpool could have scored further goals before their tempo dropped and West Ham gained hope when the Spaniard Kepa Blanco, looking marginally offside, scored a minute into his debut after being set up by another substitute, Bobby Zamora.

West Ham never seriously looked like equalising and are passing too poorly and threatening too sporadically for comfort.

They intend to make at least one signing today and have not given up hope of getting the centre-back Matthew Upson from Birmingham City.

West Ham came into the game without a victory against Premiership opponents since December 17th.

Then again, that success had come against Manchester United and the Hammers had also roused themselves to beat Arsenal in November.

There was little in the first half hour to suggest they would add another notable scalp to that list, however. The ironic cheers when a Nigel Reo-Coker shot was easily gathered by Pepe Reina in the 33rd minute summed up the efforts. That was their first effort at goal and they had far too often been let down by poor passing.

Yet the attempt did spark life into West Ham and for the first time they began to pose problems for Liverpool.

Marlon Harewood and Luis Boa Morte both forced saves from Reina, the goalkeeper doing well to tip a low shot from Harewood round a post but being awarded a goalkick as the referee failed to spot his touch.

Harewood has been the subject of an approach from Tottenham, who would be happy to bring in another forward and dispense with Mido.

Spurs are understood to have also asked about Teddy Sheringham, whose craft would have been welcome last night.

West Ham's desire could not be faulted with Reo-Coker, Nigel Quashie and Boa Morte among those fighting hard, but class was also in short supply from a disappointing Liverpool, who hardly looked a team that had won their previous four league matches.

Rafa Benitez opted for the 4-3-3 that saw his team win at Watford but there was little to accompany their dominance of early possession and they lost their way before the interval.

Though John Arne Riise felt he ought to have had a penalty for a challenge by Jonathan Spector, their only notable effort was from Steven Gerrard and ended with Quashie getting a touch that deflected the ball for a corner.

The chance came after Craig Bellamy had skipped down the right and crossed, but Liverpool too infrequently threatened down the flanks.

Peter Crouch spent considerable time as the widest forward on the right and Dirk Kuyt was having little impact from a left-hand role that saw him drift infield.

Liverpool must have regretted their failure to further test an unconvincing looking Roy Carroll in West Ham's goal and that seemed uppermost in their minds when they scored 10 seconds into the second half. Crouch, given space as Calum Davenport failed to win the ball, set up Kuyt to strike an unstoppable shot in via the bar from about 25 yards.

Benitez's switching of Kuyt to the right had paid instant dividends and soon Liverpool had a second goal. Gerrard, just inside his own half, picked out Bellamy, whose clever lay-off found Riise on the left and the Norwegian's cutback was swept into the net by Crouch with a first-time shot from the edge of the box.

Asked whether Liverpool could overtake Chelsea and catch Manchester United Crouch said after the match: "It's going to be difficult. But we've said before we've got to keep this run going and hope the top two slip up."

WEST HAM UTD: Carroll, Spector, Dailly, Davenport, McCartney, Benayoun, Reo-Coker, Quashie, Boa Morte, Cole (Zamora 73), Harewood (Kepa 76). Subs not used: Green, Pantsil, Mullins. Booked: Reo-Coker.

LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Hyypia, Agger, Carragher, Bellamy (Gonzalez 85), Gerrard, Alonso, Riise, Kuyt (Fowler 90), Crouch (Pennant 71). Subs not used: Dudek, Zenden. Booked: Alonso.

Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).