Man City's miserable run continues

West Ham 1 Man City 0:  Shaun Newton's first goal since signing for West Ham more than a year ago eventually proved enough to condemn Manchester City to a sixth straight defeat.

But West Ham, having dominated most of the first half, were forced to ride their luck on more than one occasion as City battled hard and twice had potential equalisers ruled out for offside.

Trevor Sinclair's goal-bound chip was judged to have been touched by the offside Micah Richards before crossing the line - and in the second half Darius Vassell was denied after excellent work from Albert Riera.

Manchester City have now not won a Premiership game in five attempts - a run that stretches back to before they were beaten at home by West Ham in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

The Hammers, meanwhile, continue to press for a top-seven finish despite the distraction of next weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough.

Newton enjoyed a rare start for West Ham, while Bobby Zamora was given a chance alongside Dean Ashton up front and was determined to press his claims for a place in West Ham's semi-final side.

It was Zamora's excellent turn and break that created the opening for Newton's goal - and he dropped deep to link play in the same way Teddy Sheringham does so well for the Hammers.

Newton blew his first opportunity to make a mark on the game when, having sparked a counter-attack with a 50-yard run, he held on to possession too long and failed to pick out Ashton in space.

But Newton soon made amends, firing West Ham into the lead after 17 minutes.

The opening was created expertly by Zamora, who turned on a sixpence and left Sylvain Distin in his wake on the left flank before squaring the ball for Newton to fire his shot low across David James and into the bottom corner.

City were furious not to be level at half-time, after referee Steve Bennett ruled out Sinclair's goal-bound effort. Referee Bennett was surrounded by furious City players all arguing that Sinclair's chip had already crossed the line. Their vociferous protests were to no avail, leading only to a booking for Claudio Reyna.

City continued to press after the interval and were almost gifted an equaliser within minutes of the restart. Sinclair latched on to a loose pass from Newton, and the heart of West Ham's defence parted to allow a clear run on goal.

Sinclair's shot was saved brilliantly by James Walker, who touched it round the corner - but the effort signalled a shift in the balance of power.

West Ham had their chances to close out the game. But Dunne cleared a cross from Ashton over his own bar, and Harewood then failed to pick out Benayoun in the middle.

City were threatening every time they attacked, and Vassell had the ball in the net after 75 minutes - only to be denied by the offside flag. PA