West Ham vs Watford result: Hammers ease to victory over desperate Hornets in battle for survival

West Ham 3-1 Watford: Rampant first-half performance secured win for the home team

West Ham all but guaranteed their Premier League safety with a 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Watford at the London Stadium on Friday.

What was expected to be a nervy contest between the sides perched immediately above the drop zone became something of a breeze for the Hammers, who were 3-0 up after 36 minutes.

Michail Antonio opened the scoring on six minutes before Tomas Soucek headed in a second goal just four minutes later.

Declan Rice completed the Hammers’ scoring shortly after the half-hour mark when he bent a long-range effort past Ben Foster and into the bottom corner from 33 yards out.

The assist came from captain Mark Noble, who was making his 500th appearance for the east Londoners.

Watford replied early in the second half through Troy Deeney and there were some home nerves, but West Ham stood firm to register back-to-back victories for the first time since August.

David Moyes’ side, who have two games remaining, moved above Brighton and Hove Albion into 15th spot with 37 points, six more than Bournemouth and Aston Villa who are in the relegation zone.

While they could still be caught, West Ham have a far better goal difference than their rivals.

Watford, on the other hand, are only three points clear of the drop zone and, with their last two games of the term coming against Manchester City and Arsenal, they face a nail-biting end to the season.

Reuters