West Ham off the bottom after win at Fulham

LONDON - West Ham moved off the bottom of the English Premier League after a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Fulham on Boxing Day.

Avram Grant’s side fell behind to Aaron Hughes’s early header but two goals from Carlton Cole and one from Frederic Piquionne sealed West Ham’s first away win of the season.

The victory lifted West Ham off the foot of the table into third from bottom, one point from safety.

Fulham dominated the first half and took the lead when Simon Davies’s cross found Hughes in space and he took advantage to open the scoring after just 11 minutes.

Against the run of play, West Ham equalised eight minutes before half-time through Cole and Piquionne struck on the stroke of half-time to put the visitors ahead at the break.

Both sides had chances to score the fourth goal of the match but it was West Ham who grabbed it, Cole latching onto a loose defensive header and striking a superb first-time shot into the corner.

It was the first time Cole has scored two goals in a Premier League match and his efforts will be a massive boost to Avram Grant’s hopes of remaining as the West Ham manager.

Other Boxing Day games between Blackpool and Liverpool and Everton and Birmingham City were postponed because of the freezing weather.