Premier League: West Ham 3 Fulham 0

West Ham were absolutely dominant as they beat Fulham 3-0 with Kevin Nolan, Winston Reid and Matthew Taylor all scoring in the first half.

New signing Andy Carroll was an attacking force for the hosts, playing a part in all three goals before leaving the pitch with a tight hamstring in the second half.

With the transfer window closing less than 24 hours before kick off, there were new signings in the match day squads for both sides.

For West Ham, Carroll started up front with Yossi Benayoun’s loan move from Chelsea coming too late for him to be selected.

Kieran Richardson and Hugo Rodallega made full debuts for Fulham, with Dimitar Berbatov restricted to a place on the bench.

With less than a minute on the board, the Hammers took the lead after James Collins’ clearing header was flicked on by Carroll to Ricardo Vaz Te. The Portuguese then laid the ball off for the on-rushing Nolan, who drove a volley into the bottom corner, giving goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer no chance.

The game was open, with Richardson testing Jussi Jaaskelainen from long range, before another Carroll header set up Mohammed Diame, who crashed an effort off the bar via the hand of Schwarzer.

Schwarzer was in action again, making a low stop from Vaz Te’s effort after a good move down the left from the hosts, who were looking effective in the opening stages.

Nolan was in the thick of it again, this time attempting a chip from the edge of the box that just missed the target, landing on top of the net.

The Hammers were on top and they made it count half an hour in, when Taylor’s corner was thumped home by Reid after Schwarzer made the decision to try and clear the ball, but got nowhere near it.

And just before half-time, the hosts made it three. Another free-kick pumped into the box from deep, and this time Brede Hangeland beat Carroll in the air, but his header only reached the edge of the box where Taylor crashed it home into the bottom corner to cap a perfect half for Sam Allardyce’s men.

Half-time saw Berbatov’s introduction for the ineffective Mladen Petric, but it was more of the same as West Ham dominated. The Bulgarian striker oozed class when on the ball, but it was Carroll who dominated proceedings, with his movement causing problems for Hangeland.

Taylor came close again with a free-kick, as his low, swerving effort almost caught out Schwarzer, who just did enough to keep it out.

Goal mouth action was at a bit of a premium, and with a little over 20 minutes remaining, Carroll was forced to leave the pitch after injuring his hamstring while jumping with Hangeland, and was substituted for Carlton Cole.

At the other end, Berbatov was linking well with his new team-mates, creating space for fellow sub Alex Kacaniklic to cross, and again laying off to Rodallega, but his shot was weak and straight at Jaaskelainen.

The Hammers keeper was forced into a late save, pushing Rodallega’s effort onto the post, but it was as close as Fulham got to scoring.