West Ham snapped out of a three match losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The Hammers looked on course for their fourth straight loss when Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn in the lead in the 19th minute. But Dean Ashton equalized for West Ham in the 39th minute and debutant Fred Sears came off the bench to grab the winner in the 81st minute to relieve some pressure off manager Alan Curbishley.

The hosts were keen to put behind a string of disappointing results and created a number of chances in the opening minutes of the game and Ashton failed to hit the target on two occasions.

However the visitors took the lead in the 19th minute when Morten Gamst Pedersen curled in a cross from the left flank for Santa Cruz to head his side in the lead. West Ham started to find the rhythm with some good passing and movement and found the equalizer six minutes before half time. Ashton took control of the ball on the left flank and raced past Christopher Samba before slotting the ball past Brad Friedel to put his side on level terms.

Pedersen had a great chance to restore the lead in the second half but somehow managed to miss the target from eight yards out. West Ham made them pay for the missed chance when Sears, who replaced Solano in the 75th minute, latched on to Ashton's pass before smashing it towards the target. Though Friedel saved the initial shot, the 18 year old pounced on the rebound to score the winner with just nine minutes remaining.