Victor Obinna continued his rich scoring vein with two goals, while debutant Robbie Keane hit one as West Ham United scored a morale-boosting Barclays Premier League victory at Blackpool.
Fresh from his match-winning hat-trick in the FA Cup fourt-round win over Nottingham Forest, Obinna was at it again, netting a brace and playing a part in the Hammers' other goal as West Ham scored a deserved 3-1 success at a windswept Bloomfield Road.
Avram Grant's side had the better of a breathless first half, with Obinna to the fore as the visitors went on the offensive against Ian Holloway's side.
The East Enders had already gone close on a number of occasions before the Nigeria forward opened the scoring in fortuitous fashion on ?? minutes.
A deep corner broke to the No33, who then twisted and turned his way past Craig Cathcart before unleashing a low shot towards the near post that looked to be a routine save for Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson.
However, Kingson found the effort too hot to handle, allowing the ball to slip past him and into the net at the near post.
The lead was no more than West Ham deserve for making a hugely positive start on a dark and wet evening in the North West.
Cheered on by more than 1,500 supporters, the Hammers came close through a Scott Parker shot and Cathcart's deflection, which Kingson did well to scamble away from danger.
Having gone ahead, West Ham continued to hold the upper hand and doubled their lead through debutant Keane.
Obinna was again involved, twice forcing saves from the Blackpool goalkeeper before the Republic of Ireland captain expertly steered the ball into the bottom right-hand corner with a superbly controlled volley.
Blackpool had played their part in a breathless opening period, but had failed to force Robert Green into a meaningful save.
However, when Charlie Adam's free-kick clipped Scott Parker's head and flew behind for a left-wing corner, the mercurial Scot responded by firing a low corner into the near post that eluded both Frederic Piquionne and Green to nestle into the net.
Just when it looked like the Tangerines may take the wings out of West Ham's sails, Obinna stepped up just 90 seconds after Adam's lucky strike to ping an unstoppable 30-yard drive past Kingson and into the top corner to re-establish the visitors' two-goal advantage.
The second half saw Blackpool go on the offensive in an attempt to get back into the game, but the Hammers held firm, despite the introduction of strikers James Beattie and Marlon Harewood from the substitutes' bench.
The closest Blackpool came to an equaliser was when David Vaughan curled a free-kick against the crossbar but, other than that and a few episodes of penalty-area pinball, West Ham held the hosts at an arm's length.
Debutant Keane was naturally delighted to begin his career in claret and blue career with a goal and, more importantly, a much-needed victory.
"It's always nice as a striker to score on your debut but of course the most important thing was getting the win and we managed that," he told West Ham TV. "Full credit to the lads because Blackpool came at us but we put in a good team effort and we did it and we enjoyed it.
"This is just one little step forward to what we want to achieve. It's a good start and it's important that we maintain this now and carry it forward to Sunday's fixture."