Middlesbrough 1 West Ham 3: Andy Carroll scores twice as Hammers leave Boro just outside the relegation zone

ANDY CARROLL’S first half double helped West Ham to a vital win at Middlesbrough that has helped keep Slaven Bilic in his job until the end of the season.

Bilic was given two games to save his job after defeat against Manchester City – and he has responded by leading his team to wins over Crystal Palace and now Boro.

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West Ham stormed into an early lead when Carroll rose highest to power a header into the top corner – only for Cristhian Stuani to level the scores after a fine move from Middlesbrough.

But former Newcastle star Carroll was on hand to slot home from close range just before the break, before Jonathan Calleri’s stoppage time goal sent Aitor Karanka’s side to a defeat that leaves them just two places clear of the relegation zone.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS

• Jose Fonte completed his £8million move from Southampton to West Ham last night but was unavailable for this fixture.
• Dimitri Payet – who has been deleted from the squad’s WhatsApp group and is training with West Ham’s Under-23s– was again not part of the Hammers squad.

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• Middlesbrough’s own new signing of the week, Patrick Bamford, started on the bench, as did Rudy Gestede, who joined earlier in the window. Bamford came on after 80 minutes.
• Andy Carroll suffered whiplash after his scissor-kick heroics against Crystal Palace last Saturday and missed training earlier in the week. But he was fit to start here and scored a bullet header before sliding in for the Hammers’ second.
• Aitor Karanka sprung a surprise by moving Calum Chambers from centre-half to right-back. But he showed he is still adaptable with a lovely cross from out wide for Cristhian Stuani to make it 1-1.

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PA:Press Association

• Adama Traore has been in and out of Boro’s team this season. But he started here and was impressive, showing just why Chelsea are interested in the pacey winger.
• BDO darts world champion and Boro fan Glen Durrant was proudly paraded on the pitch at half-time and admitted standing on the Riverside turf meant more to him than winning his title.
• Michail Antonio is a machine. He ran himself into the ground again here, starting up front alongside Carroll before switching to the left. Any team would love a player of his work ethic.

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• After 70 minutes, visiting fans sang their new chant of, “F*** off Payet, Dimitri Payet, We just don’t want you anymore”.
• This was the Hammers’ first away league win without Payet in the side since he joined at the start of last season. They had previously drawn three and lost three on the road when the Frenchman was missing.

Dream Team Ratings

Middlesbrough: Valdes 6, Chambers 7 , Gibson 5, Bernardo 7, Friend 6, De Roon 6, Clayton 6, Forshaw 5 (Gestede 83, 5), Traore 8, Negredo 6, Stuani 7 (Bamford 81, 5)

West Ham: Randolph 6, Byram 6, Ogbonna 7, Reid 7, Cresswell 7, Obiang 7, Noble 6(Fernandes 54, 6), Feghouli 6 (Collins 85, 6), Antonio 7, Lanzini 8, Carroll 8 (Calleri 67, 7)

League Table