Butters goal stuns Hammers
By Andy Clarke. Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Brighton staged yet another smash and grab raid to stun West Ham as Guy Butters' goal gave them a 1-0 win at Upton Park.
Mark McGhee's side have now won six matches since their promotion to the Championship, all of them by the only goal of the game.
The visitors had to survive wave upon wave of attacks from West Ham and grabbed their shock winner mid-way through the second half when Butters headed in Richard Carpenter's deep free-kick.
Tempers then flared as West Ham tried to get back into the game and both teams had a man sent off after a confrontation between Hayden Mullins and Adam Virgo.
Alan Pardew's men had gone nine home matches since their last defeat to Wigan and they began in positive fashion, with Marlon Harewood lashing a shot against the outside of a post.
Harewood then shot wide under pressure from Danny Cullip having been played in by Matt Etherington, before Don Hutchison and Luke Chadwick both missed the target.
Hutchison then headed just wide after Calum Davenport had helped the ball back across the face of goal and Michel Kuipers later did well to keep out a low Etherington shot.
Butters' goal came completely against the run of play, but for all their domination the Hammers were unable to force their way back into the game, despite Harewood, Nigel Reo-Coker and Sergei Rebrov all going close.
Matches
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npower Championship
Table
npower Championship
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 46 | 87 |
| 2 | Hull City | 46 | 79 |
| 3 | Watford | 46 | 77 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 46 | 75 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 72 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 68 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 68 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 67 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 65 |
| 10 | Derby County | 46 | 61 |
| 11 | Burnley | 46 | 61 |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 46 | 61 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 61 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackpool | 46 | 59 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 59 |
| 17 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 58 |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 58 |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 58 |
| 20 | Millwall | 46 | 56 |
| 21 | Barnsley | 46 | 55 |
| 22 | Peterborough United | 46 | 54 |
| 23 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 51 |
| 24 | Bristol City | 46 | 41 |
Hayden Mullins
Adam Virgo
