West Ham celebrate scoring their opener against Millwall

Championship: West Ham 2 Millwall 1

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Table-topping West Ham United tamed the Lions as they got back to winning ways with this hard-fought victory over the Millwall at Upton Park.

The Hammers, who had to play for 82 minutes with ten men following the early dismissal of captain Kevin Nolan took an interval lead thanks to Carlton Cole’s ninth goal of the campaign and, although Liam Trotter levelled, Winston Reid quickly volleyed Sam Allardyce’s side to victory.

Following his side’s forlorn five goal hammering at Ipswich on Tuesday night, the West Ham boss had made two changes as Joey O’Brien and Abdoulaye Faye came in for Henri Lansbury and substitute Matt Taylor, who took his place on the bench alongside deadline-day captures Nicky Maynard and Ricardo Vaz Te.

But within eight minutes, Big Sam was down to ten men, when Nolan was shown a straight red card by referee Mick Jones for a two-footed lunge on Jack Smith, who had his shin pads to thank for the fact that he was able to continue.

That rounded off a miserable few days for the Hammers’ skipper, who had certainly done little to justify his reported £50,000 per week salary with a poor Portman Road performance followed by this early trip to the showers.

Ironically, Smith had been the visitor’s most threatening player in the opening exchanges, sending an early header inches over and then drilling a powerful effort well wide.

Languishing in 21st-place, 24 points behind the high flying Hammers, Millwall had made a trio of switches from the side that had lost at home to Watford in mid-week as Alan Dunne, Shane Lowry and new signing Andy Keogh replaced Tony Craig and substitutes Ryan Mason and Harry Kane.

Despite having that one man advantage, though, the visitors struggled to make it count and, indeed, it was not until the half-hour mark that Robert Green had any real work to do, when he saved Liam Feeney’s well-struck shot before then racing out to pluck the ball off Darius Henderson’s toes.

Not that West Ham had shown too much in the final third, themselves.

Indeed, apart from an early Cole header that looped over and an O’Brien scorcher that sizzled though the freezing lunchtime air before clearing the angle, ex-Hammer David Forde had rarely been troubled between the Millwall posts.

Playing in an unfamiliar midfield holding role, James Tomkins’ header was just too weak, while Julian Faubert also prodded George McCartney’s low centre wide before lone-striker Cole scuffed his low 18-yarder beyond the right post.

But just when the opening 45 minutes looked like coming to a barren, blank chilly conclusion, Cole struck in stoppage time, when Mark Noble sent a deep free kick into the danger-zone, where the tumbling Winston Reid nodded skywards for the Hammers’ top-scorer striker to outjump Nadjim Abdou and head over the line to break the deadlock.

Taylor replaced Jack Collison for the restart and, after Henderson was booked for elbowing Reid, Faubert almost doubled the East Enders lead, when he met McCartney’s cross with a looping header that hit Forde’s left-hand angle.

The flying Faubert was then upended by the consequently cautioned Lowry and, after Kane came on for Barron, only the outstretched boot of Tomkins prevented the Millwall substitute from converting Keogh’s cross.

On 65 minutes, however, Millwall did draw themselves level, when the careless Faye failed to shepherd the ball out of play, allowing Henderson to hook the ball back from the byline for Trotter to volley home from 15 yards.

Packed into the upper tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand, the well-policed Millwall fans wasted no time taunting their hosts but their joy was destined to be short-lived.

Indeed, it took just three minutes for the ten men to regain their lead, when Forde – under pressure from Faubert - could only punch O’Brien’s up and under to the edge of the area, where Reid smashed home his second goal of the campaign to send the West Ham fans amongst the crowd of 27,774 equally wild.

In reply, Smith sent a long-ranger inches wide, before Dunne forced Green into a low save but in the end Big Sam’s battlers proved solid enough to claim the victory that keeps them at the top of the table.

Hammers: Green, O’Brien, McCartney, Reid, Faye, Faubert (O’Neil 79), Collison (Taylor h/t), Tomkins, Noble, Nolan, Cole (Vaz Te 89). Unused Subs: Baldock, Maynard.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Barron (Kane 57), Lowry, Ward, Feeney (Mason 79), Henderson, Trotter, Abdou, Smith, Keogh. Unused Subs: Allsop, N’Guessan, Wright.

Bookings: Henderson (50), Lowry (52), Ward (67), Faye (82), Cole (86).

Sent Off: Nolan (8)

Referee: Mick Jones

Attendance: 27,774.