West Ham United 2-0 Queens Park Rangers

QPR have now kept only two clean sheets in their last 20 Premier League games

• West Ham climb nine places to seventh in the table

• First clean sheet of the season for the Hammers

• QPR two points from safety at the bottom

• Hoops suffer fourth straight league away defeat

West Ham climbed to seventh in the table as an own goal by Nedum Onuoha and Diafra Sakho's header left QPR two points from safety at the bottom.

The Hammers went ahead when Stewart Downing's corner struck the knee of Onuoha, standing on the edge of the six-yard area, and rolled in.

Charlie Austin fired wide from QPR substitute Bobby Zamora's cross before Sakho headed the second from a mis-hit cross by James Tomkins.

QPR have now won once in seven games.

Hoops boss Harry Redknapp has plenty to ponder during the international break after defeat at the hands of the club he managed between 1994-2001.

Not only has his side lost all four away Premier League games since winning promotion via the play-offs last season, they have scored only once in seven-and-a-half hours of league and cup action on their travels.

That does not bode well with three of the next four games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Hammers keeper Adrian was forced into a full-stretch save to keep out Niko Kranjcar's long-range 70th minute free-kick.

But by then West Ham had the points in the bag with a performance that offered evidence their season is starting to gather momentum under Sam Allardyce.

Their second successive home win lifted them nine places up the Premier League table above Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

It might not have been a repeat of the sparkling display that saw off Liverpool two weeks earlier, but the Hammers kept their first clean sheet of the campaign while injured striker Andy Carroll is nearing a return to action.

QPR have not won a Premier League game away from home since 2 March, 2013 and they were behind after five minutes at Upton Park when former Manchester City defender Onuoha put through his own net.

Downing's corner appeared to strike Enner Valencia on the hand as the Hammers striker appealed for a penalty after being pushed by Austin, the ball landing on Onuoha's knee before falling into the net.

Valencia wasted a good chance to double the lead five minutes later when he fired wide after Rio Ferdinand, making his 500th Premier League appearance, deflected the ball into the Ecuador forward's path.

Austin, the scorer of QPR's only away goal, wasted two chances before the unmarked Sakho doubled the lead in the 59th minute with a close-range header when Tomkins's looped the ball over Rob Green.

Redknapp's team were fortunate not to suffer a heavier defeat, Hammers substitute Kevin Nolan firing straight at Green from 12-yards when unmarked.

QPR manager Harry Redknapp:

"We're short - we're short of goals, we're short up front. It's been difficult, we lost Loic Remy on the deadline and couldn't get a replacement. We've had a tough start but there's an awful long way to go.

"There's a lot of teams down there - one win changes everything. You have to keep going. It's early days.

"We have to find a way of playing that suits everybody and get the best out of what we've got."

West Ham's next game is away to struggling Burnley on 18 October

Sam Allardyce has seen his West Ham side secure seven points from the last four games

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand was making his 500th Premier League appearance 18 years after his first

Diafra Sakho has scored in all four starts he has made for West Ham in the Premier League