Rufus steals thunder from Cole and Co

West Ham United 0 Charlton Athletic

Manchester United were the last team to retreat with full points from Fortress Upton Park, in the spring. United made hard work of it then, but yesterday Charlton strolled it, taking the lead in the fourth minute, scoring again just before half-time and condemning West Ham to another depressing start to a Premiership campaign. Just one point in three games, with eight goals conceded and only Bolton, who play Aston Villa this afternoon, below them in the table.

Charlton, in contrast, are as chirpy as ever, chasing the aristocrats and generally making a nuisance of themselves in more exalted company in the top six. Even Alan Curbishley, their wry and understated manager, decided to shed his usual diffidence and, in the home of the academy, of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, laud his own young talent.

"I don't see a better out-and-out defender in the Premiership, who's English," said Curbishley of Richard Rufus, his impressive centre-back. "If he'd not missed the whole of last season, I'm sure he would have featured somewhere in the international squads. But it's up to me and to the club to get his name in the spotlight a bit more." In the presence of Sven Goran Eriksson, Rufus did a pretty decent job of self-promotion, subduing the lively West Ham attack with almost casual disdain alongside the equally impressive Jon Fortune. As Chris Powell has proved, the England coach is not averse to selecting unsung defenders. He might even get the right one this time.

Glenn Roeder, the West Ham manager, has been here before, roughly this time last season, but so swiftly does the carousel turn that the howls of derision which greeted the final whistle will soon be converted into the usual currency for a manager under pressure. Even their usual defensive assurance at home deserted them and Charlton, sharp and experienced counter-attackers, profited from a series of elementary errors, notably at set pieces. The fear for the likeable Roeder is that the frailties which dogged West Ham on the road last season have surfaced closer to home. Having conceded a mere 14 goals at Upton Park in the whole of last season, West Ham gifted Charlton as soft a pair of goals as any neighbour could wish.

The first came quickly when a long throw by Luke Young evaded Edouard Cissé and bounced straight into the path of Claus Jensen, who gleefully thumped the ball past David James. Set out to defend, with a phalanx of midfielders stifling West Ham's creativity and cutting down the space on the flanks, an early goal was all the incentive Charlton required. Reminded in no uncertain terms by Curbishley of the industry shown by Tottenham against them in midweek, they harried and tackled as if this was a relegation struggle, not an early season wrangle for east London supremacy.

Cole, in particular, was subjected to what the Americans call double-teaming, with the irrepressible John Robinson and Powell at his heels all afternoon. It said something for the 20-year-old's tenacity that he was at the heart of most of West Ham's more dangerous moments, twice cutting in from wide to drive shots at Dean Kiely in the first half and, after a neat bit of skill, thumping a left-foot drive just over the bar early in the second half. Less savoury was his petulance in hurling the ball in the direction of an assistant referee and he was booked by Jeff Winter. At least Cole seemed to care. Some of the rest seemed less than bothered.

The match, though, hinged on Kiely's brilliant save from Defoe five minutes before half-time. An equaliser then and West Ham would surely have settled into the fluent passing rhythm which characterised what Roeder called their "benchmark" performance against Arsenal. Instead, they were immediately let down by another inept piece of defending. From a corner, Mathias Svensson headed past James and though the ball was cleared off the line, Jon Fortune, born in Canning Town and schooled just over the fence from Upton Park, was in the right place to curl his shot deftly into the left hand corner. 0-1 might have been fair enough; 0-2 was riches beyond belief for the visitors, for all their handsome record in London derbies last season.

West Ham created a few half-chances in response without ever convincing themselves that they would get back in the game. Charlton grew in stature and looked at least as likely to increase their lead, with Jensen and Euell going close.

"We're not the biggest team," said Roeder. "But we just didn't react to the ball quickly enough. We were very good at home last season. But unless we cut out that sort of defending, we're going to make life very difficult for ourselves." The manager, most of all.

West Ham United 0 Charlton Athletic 2
Jensen 4, Fortune 44

Half-time: 0-2 Attendance: 32,424