Sam Allardyce was once again left to marvel at another outstanding away performance as his Hammers won 2-0 at Middlesbrough.
It was a sixth victory out of seven unbeaten and significantly strengthened their hold on second place in the npower Championship. Big Sam's men have a six-point margin on third-place Cardiff City and are a further two ahead of their Tuesday night hosts, who could have cut the gap to just two points with a home win.
Freddie Piquionne, one of four changes from the weekend, rewarded the manager's faith with a headed opener on nine minutes from a Matt Taylor cross, himself making a welcome return to the starting eleven. Big Sam was delighted, especially as he was without the injured Sam Baldock (hamstring) and John Carew (knee) from the weekend.
Carlton Cole then came off the bench as a late replacement for Piquionne and scored his seventh of the season in the dying seconds of the match. In between, the Hammers rearguard stood firm, with Guy Demel making his first appearance in claret and blue after his deadline-day arrival. It was actually his first competitive match action since April, and the right-back barely put a foot wrong.
"It was as close as it can get I think to the perfect away performance," said the manager, who was delighted to see his men express their free-flowing passing game at times. "It was a fantastic start. We were on the front foot, we wanted to impose our own football on them and we did just that.
"Freddie Piquionne might have scored before he did from Matt Taylor. It was a good ball from Kevin Nolan, an excellent cross from Matt Taylor that showed what we have been missing since he was injured, and Freddie headed it in.
"We were glad to see Freddie score because he had three good chances on Saturday and missed them. That got us off to a fantastic start. You would expect Middlesbrough to come back as they haven't lost here for a long time but the defence was solid."
The manager warned his men at half-time to beware a Boro fightback, especially as Scott McDonald and Marvin Emnes were always a threat and Robert Green had needed to make three smart stops in the first 45. As it was, the second half was one of complete Hammers domination, topped off by that Cole clincher.
"We said to go out in the second half as we did in the first half. Shut them down first, stop them playing how they wanted to play and then go and attack them with our ability and skill.
"Really it should have been all over before Carlton Cole scored. Kevin Nolan missed a very good chance and Robert Green hardly had to make a save against a Middlesbrough side that hasn't been defeated here for a long time. It is a great win and 2-0 was deserved."
Reflecting on the many positives, such as Green's assured display and Demel's "outstanding debut", the manager said he hoped Carew and Jack Collison, not needed on the bench, with Papa Bouba Diop returning to play a marauding midfield role, would be in contention to face Burnley on Saturday.
"The squad is being used to its full potential. We just scraped four subs on the bench, there was no more after that. It really was a great performance and a great victory. We could have had more. Mark Noble felt he was brought down for a penalty but in the end it didn't make any difference."
Much of the talk at half-time was about Southampton trailing at home to Hull City but the leaders ultimately retained their two-point advantage on the Hammers with a second-half turnaround to win 2-1. It didn't bother the manager one bit that their rise to first place in the 'as it stands' table lasted barely the time it took to have a cup of tea at the interval.
"I think we are being a bit greedy to think Southampton would lose at home with such a fantastic record. It is a great comeback. But it is about the distance we have put between ourselves and Cardiff and Middlesbrough. That is now considerable, that takes the pressure off the lads.
"It is getting greater and greater. It leaves the challenge open for us and Southampton to fight it out but really it is far to early to say that will be the case. We are only 19 games in of a 46-game season. It is a long haul yet but it we are playing some fantastic stuff and winning games of football.
"We are all happy. I look at the 1,500 fans who have travelled all this way on a Tuesday night. They are sat out there in the freezing cold but they will be happy to have seen a victory and it will have made the journey home that much better."