Di Canio comes to the rescue

West Ham 3 Ipswich Town 1 Paolo Di Canio was the saviour once again after West Ham dominated the match and then threatened to shoot themselves in the foot.

The Hammers took the lead when Steve Lomas headed home Di Canio's cross after 35 minutes, but they missed plenty of chances and allowed Marcus Bent to poke home an equaliser after 71 minutes.

It was left to mercurial skipper Di Canio to settle the nerves when he put West Ham back in front four minutes later. His first shot was blocked by goalkeeper Matteo Sereni but he followed up to score with a clever scissors-kick. Substitute Jermain Defoe rounded off the victory with a fine solo goal four minutes from time, drilling home a low shot from the edge of the box to secure West Ham's first double over another Premiership club this season.

They move on to the magical 40-point mark but if Ipswich are going to get the three wins they believe they need to survive, they must get them sooner rather than later. In their last three games they face Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.

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