CITY striker Andrew Cole left West Ham singing the Blues after helping himself to a birthday double at Eastlands.

Cole, who marked his 34th birthday on Saturday, celebrated in the best possible manner after curling home a brilliant first, then ramming home a typical poacher’s effort to seal a richly-deserved Blues win 11 minutes after the restart.

It was a good job the former England striker was on form too.

While the approach play and industry of Kiki Musampa and Darius Vassell deserved immense credit, they left their shooting boots at home and were largely responsible for City’s host of wasted chances, failures which ensured a few nervous moments at the end when Bobby Zamora netted an injury-time consolation.

While the loss of Richard Dunne to a knee injury picked up on World Cup duty with the Republic of Ireland was a major blow, Blues boss Stuart Pearce could still call upon impressive teenager Nedum Onuoha to partner skipper Sylvain Distin.

The new England Under-21 international has proved himself a competent performer at Premiership level already and was involved in two of the more noteworthy incidents of an enterprising opening period in which the hosts should have opened up a bigger lead than they did.

Alan Pardew had already voiced his disapproval at a string of borderline decisions when Onuoha went clattering into Marlon Harewood when the Hammers striker was about to break clear.

Dispatched

Harewood thought he had been fouled and if the decision had gone against Onuoha he would almost certainly have been dispatched to the dressing rooms.

Fortunately for the youngster, referee Mark Clattenburg ruled it a 50-50 tussle and Onuoha escaped, surviving long enough to come agonisingly close to converting his first senior goal in first-half stoppage time when he stooped to meet Musampa’s corner with a low header, only for Paul Konchesky to nod off the line.

It was the second time Konchesky had saved the visitors. The first occasion came after Tomas Repka had dived in ridiculously early to tackle Musampa.

The Dutchman used his strength to ride the challenge, sped clear down the wing then crossed for Vassell, whose flicked effort may have been going wide anyway but Konchesky blasted away from danger just to be sure.

Roy Carroll made a good save to deny Stephen Ireland and a better one to beat away a powerful Danny Mills drive - but there was little the goalkeeper could do to prevent the opening goal of the game.

The pair weren’t Old Trafford team-mates for long but Carroll would have been around Cole long enough to fear the worst when the forward continued his run after playing a forward pass to Vassell, then latched on to his strike partner’s astute backheeled pass.

Unstoppable

Although the initial angle was not an inviting one, in an instant Cole widened the target by opening his body and curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

West Ham mounted little in response and any relief Pardew must have felt at being only a single goal behind at the break was magnified as City tore into his team after half-time.

The visitors did manage one chance of their own, Harewood sending Matthew Etherington through with a deft flick.

Other than that, it was all City, with Carroll heroically trying to keep them at bay.

The former United stopper saved once from Cole and twice from Vassell. He even kept out Musampa’s low drive after Vassell’s persistence had allowed him to rob Hayden Mullins on the edge of the Hammers box.

This time though Carroll’s luck did not hold, the rebound flicked off Danny Gabbidon and up stepped Cole to gleefully ram home from five yards.

It more or less confirmed West Ham’s first away defeat of the campaign - but there were still plenty of chances to increase the margin of victory.

None were better than the one which saw Musampa race clean through four minutes from time but, at top speed, the Dutchman could not keep his feet as he tried to round Carroll.

Zamora’s first top flight goal - well taken after he rounded David James and tucked the ball into the net following an incisive reverse pass by Yossi Benayoun - caused a few heart scares among the home support.

But anything other than a home win would have been a rank injustice.

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