West Ham's Liverpool hoodoo struck yet again as the men from Anfield came away from Upton Park with all three points in an action packed game. Liverpool will probably point to a period of second half domination as cause for celebration, but the Hammers will equally bemoan some injury woes that ensured their three substitutes would be used just to replace limping players, at a time when they could have done with some tactical opportunities.

It could have been so different though had the excellent youngster Zavon Hines made the most of a glorious chance after only two minutes when he robbed defender Carragher - who looked unsteady against the attacker all evening - and shot against the post. Fair play though, Reina came out quickly and replays later showed that Hines probably did well to even bend the ball onto the post.

In fact it was Torres who opened the scoring against the home side when he superbly tore the West Ham flank open, scoring at the near post from close range. There aren't many defenders who find themselves blamed when the Spanish striker is on this type of form but it was unfortunate that the move started with a misplaced pass in midfield and Tomkins failing to usher Torres wide. There was even a suggestion that Green could have stayed up longer but, by and large, you have to give credit to Torres who seems to terrorise the Hammers whenever he plays against us.

But West Ham were not out of the game, and they had already produced several half-chances before Torres scored. Unfortunately, Upson had injured himself when trying to stop Torres and the England player was replaced by Danny Gabbidon. Shortly after, Behrami left the field in tears - nice to see someone so dedicated to the cause - and was replaced by Kovac. Ironically, although forced, the tactic seemed to shore up the Hammers midfield and the home side were level on the half-hour when a penalty box burst from Hines found Carragher all over the place, leading to him pushing the attacker in the area to allow debutant Diamanti to score from the spot.

It was later suggested the Italian had touched the ball twice but ESPN replays proved inconclusive and if you can't see it on slow-mo close replay after six showings then how is the referee supposed to spot it? Studio talking heads Kevin Keegan and Alan Curbishley later suggested that the ball looping up and over meant the touch could not have been straight from the spot but Curbishley in particular never seemed to know what direction the ball should go in when he was managing West Ham so I discount the suggestion. Mrs Diamanti celebrated in the stand with baby - you really should be supporting his head, you know! - and the fans seem to have acquired a new hero.

Liverpool weren't to be denied though and went back in front five minutes later when Kuyt directed a Gerrard shot from a Benayoun corner into the corner but the lead didn't last till half-time when the Hammers equalised themselves from a corner with Cole directing the ball in between a clutch of defenders.

The second half wasn't quite as exciting as the first with West Ham dropping back and allowing Liverpool too much space to play the ball in the Hammers half but even so with Diamanti looking dangerous on corners and free kicks there was always a scoring possibility so it was disappointing when the limping striker needed to be replaced by Keiron Dyer. Even so, Dyer himself went on a mazy run but was denied a shot when his pass to Cole was blocked. Benayoun, not to be outdone, showed his old fans what they missed by his departure to Anfield when single-handedly taking on the Hammers defence only to be denied at the last.

Liverpool weren't to be denied either though and, just when a draw was looking the best result for the home side, Torres rose to a Babel cross and headed in between two defenders after 75 minutes. It was too much for the Hammers who ran out of ideas and puff before the added injury time.

After an early season blip, Liverpool now look good for a title chase this season and with Fernando Torres in this form anything is possible. Nevertheless I disagreed with the ESPN commentators on West Ham's promise for the season when I saw the match later. Injuries will always effect a club like West Ham and when three players are injured during a game, leaving two limping, then they will find it hard against a side like Liverpool who are dangerous at even half pace. With Franco to come I thought there was enough to ensure that the 'second tier' of the Premiership will find the Hammers tough competition.

Despite that I did think the ESPN coverage was good *smiles sweetly at the editor* but it would be even better if the insane opinions of the idiot Geordie Chris Waddle were kept to a minimum. Can I suggest a large sledgehammer would help?