A disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic
saw Hammers slip into the Premiership's bottom three on
Wednesday night.
Goals from David Cotterill and Leighton Baines in the space of six second-half minutes earned the visitors a deserved victory and left Alan Pardew feeling frustrated once again after seeing his players fail to click in attack.
The Hammers boss had made two changes to the team that started Sunday's defeat at Everton, as Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood come in for Lee Bowyer and Bobby Zamora, who both dropped to the bench - where they were joined by goalkeeper Roy Carroll following his return to training.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell, meanwhile, made the same number of changes following the Latics' 4-0 home defeat against Liverpool on Saturday - Henri Camara and Matt Jackson making way for youngsters Cotterill and David Wright.
Hammers had a lucky escape inside the opening minute, as a free-kick from Skoko was flicked on by Scharner, forcing Green to scramble across his goal and tip the ball onto the post and out for a corner.
Four minutes later, fortune favoured the hosts again, as a short back-pass from Mullins again had Green rushing to clear but his kick was blocked by McCulloch, and the Hammers goalkeeper was relieved to see the ball drop wide of the target.
That double scare seemed to spark the Hammers into life, though, and moments later they carved out their first opening of the night, as Reo-Coker fed Harewood, who turned a defender and fired in a low shot that was turned round the post by Kirkland.
However, despite the host of early chances, the goals failed to materialise in the first-half, as both sides struggled to find their rhythm or create any meaningful attacks. Kilbane almost broke through on 22 minutes but fired his shot straight at Green, while Harewood sent a dipping volley just wide of the target on the half hour mark.
Moments before the break, the game burst into life again at either end, as first Benayoun sent in a corner that was flicked on to the far post but prodded just wide by Tevez, then McCulloch escaped in the penalty area and looked set to lob Green, only for the goalkeeper to superbly palm the effort away.
The two teams came out for the second half in more determined mood, and it was Hammers who made the livelier start. Five minutes in, Tevez collected the ball midway inside the Wigan half and advanced to the edge of the area before whipping in a right-foot shot that took a deflection off Baines and crashed back off the post to leave the Argentinean holding his head in his hands.
Just seconds later, many others inside the stadium were doing the same, as the visitors broke away and took the lead. After McCulloch's low cross on the left had eluded everyone inside the six-yard box, the ball was gathered by Cotterill, who turned and fired a fierce left-foot shot into the roof of the net from 12 yards out.
Six minutes later, things went from bad to worse for the hosts, as Wigan struck again out of the blue. A corner on the left appeared to have been headed away to safety by Nigel Reo-Coker but - from fully 35 yards out - Baines let fly and saw his shot take a wicked deflection off Spector, wrong-footing Green and spinning into the opposite corner of the net.
That was the cue for Pards to switch his plan of attack, introducing Teddy Sheringham in place of Benayoun to set-up a 4-3-3 formation. Unfortunately, though the substitute was unable to make the desired impact - his only real effort at goal a free-kick from 20 yards out that flew high and wide.
On 65 minutes, Wigan had the ball in the back of the net again, when Kilbane's free-kick from the left was headed home at far post by Scharner, but Hammers breathed a sigh of relief as the linesman flagged for offside to rule out the effort.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, though, Pardew was dealt another blow as Anton Ferdinand was forced off the pitch with an ankle injury - meaning that he now has both his first-choice central defenders sidelined, following Danny Gabbidon's hamstring problem.
The Hammers boss threw on Bowyer for Etherington in the closing stages to add a bit more urgency, but his side still couldn't manage to find an opening, and the final whistle blew to confirm a record of just 10 goals in 16 Premiership matches so far this season.
Goals from David Cotterill and Leighton Baines in the space of six second-half minutes earned the visitors a deserved victory and left Alan Pardew feeling frustrated once again after seeing his players fail to click in attack.
The Hammers boss had made two changes to the team that started Sunday's defeat at Everton, as Yossi Benayoun and Marlon Harewood come in for Lee Bowyer and Bobby Zamora, who both dropped to the bench - where they were joined by goalkeeper Roy Carroll following his return to training.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell, meanwhile, made the same number of changes following the Latics' 4-0 home defeat against Liverpool on Saturday - Henri Camara and Matt Jackson making way for youngsters Cotterill and David Wright.
Hammers had a lucky escape inside the opening minute, as a free-kick from Skoko was flicked on by Scharner, forcing Green to scramble across his goal and tip the ball onto the post and out for a corner.
Four minutes later, fortune favoured the hosts again, as a short back-pass from Mullins again had Green rushing to clear but his kick was blocked by McCulloch, and the Hammers goalkeeper was relieved to see the ball drop wide of the target.
That double scare seemed to spark the Hammers into life, though, and moments later they carved out their first opening of the night, as Reo-Coker fed Harewood, who turned a defender and fired in a low shot that was turned round the post by Kirkland.
However, despite the host of early chances, the goals failed to materialise in the first-half, as both sides struggled to find their rhythm or create any meaningful attacks. Kilbane almost broke through on 22 minutes but fired his shot straight at Green, while Harewood sent a dipping volley just wide of the target on the half hour mark.
Moments before the break, the game burst into life again at either end, as first Benayoun sent in a corner that was flicked on to the far post but prodded just wide by Tevez, then McCulloch escaped in the penalty area and looked set to lob Green, only for the goalkeeper to superbly palm the effort away.
The two teams came out for the second half in more determined mood, and it was Hammers who made the livelier start. Five minutes in, Tevez collected the ball midway inside the Wigan half and advanced to the edge of the area before whipping in a right-foot shot that took a deflection off Baines and crashed back off the post to leave the Argentinean holding his head in his hands.
Just seconds later, many others inside the stadium were doing the same, as the visitors broke away and took the lead. After McCulloch's low cross on the left had eluded everyone inside the six-yard box, the ball was gathered by Cotterill, who turned and fired a fierce left-foot shot into the roof of the net from 12 yards out.
Six minutes later, things went from bad to worse for the hosts, as Wigan struck again out of the blue. A corner on the left appeared to have been headed away to safety by Nigel Reo-Coker but - from fully 35 yards out - Baines let fly and saw his shot take a wicked deflection off Spector, wrong-footing Green and spinning into the opposite corner of the net.
That was the cue for Pards to switch his plan of attack, introducing Teddy Sheringham in place of Benayoun to set-up a 4-3-3 formation. Unfortunately, though the substitute was unable to make the desired impact - his only real effort at goal a free-kick from 20 yards out that flew high and wide.
On 65 minutes, Wigan had the ball in the back of the net again, when Kilbane's free-kick from the left was headed home at far post by Scharner, but Hammers breathed a sigh of relief as the linesman flagged for offside to rule out the effort.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, though, Pardew was dealt another blow as Anton Ferdinand was forced off the pitch with an ankle injury - meaning that he now has both his first-choice central defenders sidelined, following Danny Gabbidon's hamstring problem.
The Hammers boss threw on Bowyer for Etherington in the closing stages to add a bit more urgency, but his side still couldn't manage to find an opening, and the final whistle blew to confirm a record of just 10 goals in 16 Premiership matches so far this season.