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– Happy Hammers –
Marko Arnautovic lifted the gloom at West Ham as his double inspired a crucial 3-0 victory against relegation rivals Southampton.
Hundreds of fans staged a march against West Ham’s co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan before kick-off in the aftermath of the crowd protests that marred their recent home defeat against Burnley.
Amid a tense atmosphere that saw extra security measures to protect the owners, on-loan Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario eased the anxiety with a 13th-minute opener for David Moyes’ side.
Four minutes later, Arnautovic doubled West Ham’s lead and celebrated by shouting angrily towards Saints boss Mark Hughes, who fell out with the Austrian when they were together at Stoke.
And Arnautovic ensured West Ham’s fans went home happy for once with a superb volley in first-half stoppage time.
“The supporters were great and they appreciated the performance of the players. We got the job done early which helped,” Moyes said.
West Ham are five points above the relegation zone, while Southampton drop into the bottom three.
West Brom look certain to be relegated after Burnley’s 2-1 win at the Hawthorns handed the bottom club an eighth consecutive defeat.
Leicester struck late in a 2-0 win at Brighton, with Albion striker Glenn Murray missing a penalty before Vicente Iborra and Jamie Vardy sealed the points.
Newcastle beat Huddersfield 1-0 and Watford drew 2-2 with Bournemouth.
