Tomas Soucek's winner against Wolves gives West Ham's Champions League hopes a boost

Hammers lift themselves to within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United

Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - London Stadium, London, Britain - February 27, 2022 West Ham United's Tomas Soucek celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS / Chris Radburn

West Ham United celebrate scoring against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Reuters

West Ham United's Tomas Soucek scored on Sunday. Reuters

West Ham United's Tomas Soucek, second left, celebrates scoring. AP

West Ham United's Kurt Zouma fights for the ball with Wolverhampton Wanderers' Fabio Silva. Reuters

West Ham United's Michail Antonio takes on Wolverhampton Wanderers' Max Kilman and Conor Coady. Reuters

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves and West Ham United's Tomas Soucek battle for the ball. PA

A fan holds up an inflatable cat ahead of the match at the London Stadium. PA

Tomas Soucek scored the only goal of the game as West Ham's push for a Champions League spot was given a boost following a 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolves.

David Moyes had admitted before the match he would like more goals from Michail Antonio and Soucek, before the pair linked up for the Hammers' only goal of the game.

Antonio heeded his manager's words, playing in Soucek in front of goal, which was then tapped home by the Czech Republic international to give West Ham the lead and ultimately, the three points.

The Hammers had slipped down to sixth before the game, having taken just five points from their previous five matches but bounced back against Bruno Lage's men to move above Arsenal into fifth place.

Wolves, who were mostly forced to resort to trying their luck from distance, struggled to test Lukasz Fabianski in the West Ham net and finished with just one shot on target.

Wolves have struggled in the final third this season - with only Burnley and Norwich scoring fewer goals - and always struggled to break down the Hammers, with Kurt Zouma a defensive stalwart in the home side's backline.

The game started in cagey fashion with neither side having clear-cut chances, but it was West Ham who had the first significant opportunity when Jarrod Bowen ran through the Wolves defence before playing in Antonio, but the forward was unable to reach the ball before the goalkeeper.

Jose Sa had to make a sharp save in the 29th minute to deny Antonio after he was played in by Soucek, with the West Ham number nine still searching for his first goal since New Year's Day.

Manuel Lanzini, who was brought into the side in place of Said Benrahma, also tried his luck from distance but it was straight at Jose Sa.

Moments later, the home side edged closer to the breakthrough when Declan Rice curled the ball goalwards from distance, only for it to rebound off the post.

West Ham were the only side threatening, but the hosts were unable to make the breakthrough, with another good move put into the side netting by Lanzini.

However, just before the break, the visitors had their best chance of the half when West Ham were unable to clear the ball, which fell to Hwang Hee-Chan who took his shot but fired just wide.

Just after the break, Francisco Trincao tried his luck from outside the area after being played in on the edge of the box, but his attempt failed to trouble Fabianski.

West Ham eventually broke the deadlock just before the hour mark as Aaron Cresswell played in Antonio down the left side of the goal. The number nine then turned and sent the ball across goal for Soucek to poke into the back of the net from close range.

The home side almost doubled their lead after 74 minutes with Cresswell again making the key run down the left, but the ball was scrambled away by the Wolves defence and the game finished 1-0.