Tevez seals Hammers survival

Carlos Tevez provided the ultimate moment of irony in a day of rollercoaster emotions to preserve West Ham's top-flight status with the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Manchester United.

If United ended the 2006-07 season as Barclays Premiership champions, the campaign will forever be remembered for Tevez, whose mere presence in the famous claret and blue continues to cause upset and rancour among the Hammers' fellow relegation scrappers.

Somehow, the Argentinian forward has managed to rise above the rows which have swirled above his head and, in first-half stoppage time, it was Tevez who struck the decisive blow to keep the happy Hammers up.

Unable to deal with Robert Green's long punt forward, United's defence was split by a exchange of passes between Tevez and Bobby Zamora, the Argentine eventually squeezing into the far corner beyond Edwin van der Sar.

Despite promising to play his strongest team, Sir Alex Ferguson left Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes on the bench and consigned former Hammer Rio Ferdinand to the stand.

Wayne Rooney had already bobbled a couple of efforts wide when Michael Carrick swung a corner to the near post.

Alan Smith met it with an astute flick but just as the ball looked set to drop in, up popped Yossi Benayoun to nod it away and he remained solid to clear again as Kieran Richardson blasted the rebound at him.

There was more anguish to endure for the Hammers as John O'Shea rose to power another Carrick corner goalwards, only for Green to respond with a magnificent save.

Alan Curbishley's stomach must have churned 12 minutes after the restart when Ferguson sent Giggs, Ronaldo and Scholes on.

Had Tevez or Luis Boa Morte been more accurate, the Hammers would have been spared a few nervy moments but they still hung to preserve their Premiership status.