LONDON, Oct 21: West Ham United avoided a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat on Sunday, beating Sunderland 3-1 at Upton Park.Carlton Cole headed West Ham in front after nine minutes but Sunderland gained a deserved equaliser shortly after the break when the lively Kenwyne Jones headed past Robert Green.

Sunderland were unlucky not to go in front when Grant Leadbitter’s shot came back off a post.Jones headed a good chance wide as Sunderland looked for an equaliser but Craig Bellamy sealed the points for West Ham with a neat finish in the 90th minute.

The top seven all won on Saturday, with Arsenal maintaining a two-point lead over Manchester United thanks to a 2-0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. United were 4-1 winners at Aston Villa.

Results:

Played on Sunday:

West Ham United 3 Sunderland 1

Played on Saturday:

Arsenal 2 Bolton Wanderers 0

Aston Villa 1 Manchester United 4

Blackburn Rovers 4 Reading 2

Everton 1 Liverpool 2

Fulham 0 Derby County 0

Manchester City 1 Birmingham City 0

Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 2

Wigan Athletic 0 Portsmouth 2

Playing on Monday:Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur (1900 GMT).—Reuters