West Ham 4-1 Blackburn: As the Ince war rages, Davenport puts tribal hatred into perspective

Calum Davenport is a player well qualified to bring some perspective to the madness of football.

This crazy encounter saw Alan Curbishley's side climb into the European places while previously unbeaten Paul Ince suffered a ridiculously unlucky return to Upton Park.

But the more humbling story of the 25-year-old Hammers centre-back this year disproves the old Shankly adage of football, life and death.

On his first game of a loan spell to Watford in January, Davenport collided with his team-mate Darius Henderson and suffered a horrendous neck injury which came scarily close to confining him to a wheelchair.

So after a match dominated by booing - though only for the Rovers manager branded "just a fat Eddie Murphy" by the home support - the defender's recovery to score his first goal for West Ham was something to celebrate.

"I fractured vertebrae in my neck - it was really quite serious," said the £3million signing from Spurs.

"The geezer landed on my neck and the specialist told me if he had been another two kilos heavier, I would have been in a wheelchair. I lost feeling in my right hand and my right leg where my spinal cord had taken a knock.

"As anyone who has been through something like that knows, I think you begin to appreciate things more."

Davenport's story proves that, apart from the East End hatred of Ince, time moveson. Surplus to requirements last season, the £8million sale of Anton Ferdinand means he has started every game this season.

"It is the first time I have played four games in a row since the under-10s," he joked.

With the first goal so crucial to the atmosphere at Upton Park, Davenport provided it after 12 minutes before Christopher Samba deflected home Mark Noble's 20th-minute shot.

Jason Roberts pulled one back but then saw his 47th-minute penalty saved by Robert Green.

But it was not until Craig Bellamy inspired two stoppage-time goals - the first his own strike, the second by Carlton Cole - that West Ham's best Premier League start for nine years was assured. Eight goals and two home wins in four days - but more importantly a promise of the old West Ham swagger to send the fans home happy.

"Ithink that took the pressure off," said Davenport. "Before we had even played a game we were reading and hearing that the manager's days were numbered. It is unfair but you have got to stand up and be a man about it.

"All the stuff surrounding the game helped make it a real atmosphere and tthe boys rose to the occasion."

Hammers boss Curbishley said he had recalled the advice from a former teammate in trying to keep a lid on the simmering discontent at the club.

"Big Frank Lampard said one thing tomewhen I was an apprentice and it still rings true," said Curbs. "He toldme'You can't hide. You just have to get on with it.'

"If you are having a bad time you can't stop taking the kids to school or going to the supermarket. You have to carry on as normal. You have to front up. That is the way it is."

So had he been confronted by unhappy Hammers in the frozen-food section of Sainsbury's? "I don't go to the supermarket," he admitted with a rare grin.

"Is at at Charlton when other managers were being called turnips and whatever else, and I wondered what it was like.Now I've found out.

"But as long as it is me getting it and not the players then that's fine, because it is the players who have got to go out there and perform. I had 15 years of people patting me on the back before I came back here and I knew then what the situation was and what the responsibility was.

"But I can't go around all the time just defending myself. It does feel I've had to do that more than I should have but now I'm just going to get on with it."

Bellamy's crowd-lifting cameo proved his importance to the club but Curbishley does not want him to captain Wales this weekend so soon after his hamstring strain. "He will go and I hope sense will prevail," he said.

Blackburn were bang in the game until the final minutes, and Ince rightly rued his luck after Roque Santa Cruz limped off in the first half and then sub Matt Derbyshire had his equaliser wrongly ruled offside.

"We were hard done by - we had a legitimate goal ruled out," said Blackburn boss Ince.

West Ham: Green 8, Behrami 7, Davenport 6, Upson 8, Neill 6, Faubert 7 (McCartney 60, 4), Parker 5, Noble 6 (Mullins 81), Etherington 5, Cole 6, Ashton 5 (Bellamy 69, 7).

Blackburn: Robinson 5, Ooijer 6 d, Samba 5, Nelsen 6, Warnock 7, Emerton 5, Reid 7, Grella 5 (Andrews 46, 6), Pedersen 6 (Treacy 66, 5), Roque Santa Cruz 4 (Derbyshire 29, 7), Roberts 6.

Referee: Mike Riley ATTENDANCE: 32,905

Man Of The Match (Worth an extra two Fantasy League points) Robert Green (WEST HAM) 8 Crucial penalty save that stopped Rovers equalising just after the break

Villain of the Match Jason Roberts (BLACKBURN) 6 Scored, but his weakly-hit spotkick proved costly

Anorak: Despite this defeat, Blackburn have scored more Premier League goals against West Ham than any other club (39)

COMPUTER WEST HAM v BLACKBURN: HAMMERS RIDE THEIR LUCK

BALL POSSESSION WEST HAM 50% BLACKBURN 50%

FACE TO FACE

10 Corners 4

3 Offside 2

74% Pass completion 71%

17 Tackles 19

14 Fouls 23

1 Cards 5

SHOTS

7off target 4

5 on target 5

NEXT THREE GAMES

WEST HAM Sat Sep 13: WBA (a) Prem Sat Sep 20: Newcastle (h) Prem Tue Sep 23: Watford (a) Carling C

BLACKBURN Sat Sep 13: Arsenal (h) Prem Sat Sep 20: Fulham (h) Prem Tue Sep 23: Everton (h) Carling C