London, March 1:

Jack Collison scored the only goal of the game as West Ham United beat visitors Manchester City today to edge closer to a possible UEFA Cup spot.

The Wales midfielder struck in the 71st minute to continue the Hammers’ resurgence under boss Gianfranco Zola. However, another defeat for the inconsistent City could turn up the pressure on their manager Mark Hughes as they still have not won away from home since August.

The result moved West Ham up to seventh in the Premier League table on 36 points, while Manchester City remain in 10th spot, four points behind the Hammers.

On Saturday, Liverpool missed the chance to cut Manchester United’s lead at the top of league when they lost at Middlesbrough 2-0. Boro had not won a league match since November and had not even scored in five games, but Tuncay Sanli added to Xabi Alonso’s first-half own-goal to push Liverpool down to third place and seriously dent their chances of a first league title since 1990.

The result left Reds with 55 points, still seven points behind United. Chelsea overtook Liverpool on goal difference after a 2-1 win over Wigan, while Arsenal drew 0-0 with Fulham. Everton beat West Bromwich 2-0 and keep their efforts to qualify for European competition.