West Ham 1-0 Hull City
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Hull have lost 11 of their last 15 matches, and picked up just six points from a possible 45
Mark Noble's controversial penalty was enough to give West Ham an unconvincing victory over luckless Hull City at London Stadium.
Mike Phelan's visitors hit the frame of the goal three times before the hosts went ahead after Tom Huddlestone was adjudged to have brought down Michail Antonio in the area with 14 minutes left.
The Hull midfielder had his hands on Antonio but the contact appeared minimal. Referee Lee Mason thought otherwise and Noble stepped up to fire West Ham to back-to-back home Premier League wins for the first time at their new home.
Dieumerci Mbokani had earlier hit the woodwork for Hull when one-on-one with Darren Randolph, before Noble struck his own post as he attempted to clear Andrew Robertson's cross.
Robertson made it a hat-trick of efforts off the post with a thunderous drive that beat Randolph but not the frame of the goal.
A seventh straight away defeat allied to Sunderland's victory over Watford means Hull will spend Christmas bottom of the table, while West Ham - after taking seven points in a week - move five points clear of trouble.
Hull pay huge price for missed chances
Hull carved out 16 shots at the London Stadium but saw Darren Randolph save four times (red dots), Edimilson Fernandes clear off the line (orange) and two come back off the post (blue). Mark Noble's header against his own post is not shown here
Defeats do not come much harsher than this - and finishing the day bottom of the table after such a display is going to be a huge psychological blow for Hull's players to overcome.
Hull, seeking a league win away to the Hammers for the first time since 1990, took the game to the hosts from the outset and created countless chances to score.
Defender Harry Maguire saw Randolph save his header from a corner and then had a header cleared off the line in the second half by Edimilson Fernandes.
Mbokani, back after a three-match ban, really should have scored when he latched on to Aaron Cresswell's under-hit back-pass in the first half, but instead contrived to hit the inside of the upright as he tried to curl the ball beyond Randolph.
Robertson was impressive down the left and he sent over a teasing cross early in the second half that Noble nodded at pace on to his own post with Randolph beaten. Moments later the Hull left-back let fly from 20 yards with a searing shot, but again it was against the woodwork and not in the net.
Hammers dig in for another gritty win
All three of West Ham's league wins at London Stadium before Hull's visit had been by a 1-0 scoreline - so the final score on Saturday probably earned some punters a few quid.
While the table makes good reading right now, the fact remains that this was a largely disjointed performance by the hosts - one that had many fans expressing their discontent at the half-time whistle.
Manager Slaven Bilic was far from happy after an opening 45 minutes in which Hull dominated, and responded at the interval bringing on Andre Ayew and Fernandes for Manuel Lanzini and Pedro Obiang.
West Ham improved as the game wore on and very nearly went ahead when Ayew's header was cleared off the line by Robertson, but their threat remained largely limited - with Andy Carroll shackled by the Hull back three of Maguire, Michael Dawson and Curtis Davies.
But no-one can accuse West Ham of not taking their chances when they were presented this past week, first in the draw with Liverpool last Sunday and again in narrow wins over Burnley and now Hull.
Man of the match - Harry Maguire
Despite being part of a three-man back line, Harry Maguire made his presence felt all over the pitch. He played his part in keeping Andy Carroll quiet at one end, while at the other he managed a team-high four shots on target - forcing Darren Randolph into one fine save and seeing another cleared off the line. He also led the Tigers in total passes with 42 - 22 of those in the West Ham half - total touches (66) and total tackles (five)
Reaction: 'We were sloppy, they were better'
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic: "In the first half definitely we were fortunate. We were sloppy, they were better.
"At half-time I said there are a couple of good things, one that it is still 0-0 and second that it can't be much worse, we can lift up the tempo.
"In the second half we were much better, in the last half an hour we were really good. We scored the goal and should have finished the game.
"It is a massive three points for us. Back-to-back wins, in this stadium, are very good considering the situation we were in.
"Am I pleased with our performance? No I'm not. Am I pleased with our reaction? I am, but we have to play for 90 minutes."
West Ham 1-0 Hull: Massive three points for Hammers - Slaven Bilic
Hull boss Mike Phelan: "It's difficult when your team are doing ever so well, you feel for them because you want them to score the goals and get the credit. If we can play like that, we just need a stroke of genius or luck to get us goals.
"The post is there to stand in the way of a goal and it did that a few times today.
"You have to have a wry smile on your face or you'd be very, very depressed."
On the penalty decision that went against his team."I am not going to go down that road finding fault with the referee's decision. I think West Ham have got away with one."
Hull defender Andrew Robertson: "Anyone who watches the highlights will see we dominated the game. We had so many chances and have been done by a soft penalty.
"That is probably our best performance of the season and it ends up with us bottom of the league. That is the beauty of football. We have got to hope it turns around for us.
"First half we went in and West Ham were booed off. I can't believe we've not scored today.
"Their manager said we were the better team."
Hull need a bit of luck - Phelan
Stats you need to know: Hull misery at West Ham continues
West Ham have won seven consecutive league games at home against Hull City
Mark Noble has scored 15 of his past 17 penalties taken in the Premier League
Noble has scored in consecutive PL home games for the first time ever
Hull have conceded the first goal of the game on 14 occasions this season in the Premier League; more often than any other team
West Ham's past seven Premier League goals against Hull have all come in the second half of games
The Tigers are on a run of seven successive away defeats in the Premier League and they have failed to score in the past five of these
Dimitri Payet created six goalscoring chances versus Hull; three times as many as any other West Ham player
What's next?
The Boxing Day fixtures are next up for these two. West Ham travel to second-bottom Swansea at 15:00 GMT, while Hull play host to Manchester City at 17:15 GMT.