Lee Bowyer was the match winner yet again as the Londoner shot down his boyhood heroes and former club West Ham with the only goal of the game to secure Blues' fourth successive victory at St. Andrew's this afternoon.

A close-to-capacity crowd of over 28,000 witnessed another determined and full-blooded display from their side.

One man who wasn't at the game today was owner Carson Yeung, who missed his first match since taking over at the club, but the President did send his best wishes to the players before the game and he will no doubt be delighted to hear about the win, which extended the unbeaten run to seven matches.

Bowyer pounced seven minutes into the second half after being put through by Benitez to notch his sixth goal of the season.

The visitors finished the game with ten men after the 78th minute dismissal of Mark Noble but after that it was far from comfortable as the Hammers pressed but could not break through a resolute home defence, who clocked up their seventh clean sheet of the season.

Alex McLeish had the luxury of naming an unchanged line-up for the fourth game on the bounce as the Blues boss kept faith with the same side that won 3-2 at Wigan Athletic last weekend.

Meanwhile the visitors' team showed three changes from the one that lost 4-0 at home to Manchester United seven days ago as Noble, Julien Faubert, Alessandra Diamanti replaced Jonathan Spector, Zavon Hines and Jack Collison.

Roger Johnson is yet to open his goal-scoring account since joining from Cardiff in the summer and the defender came close to breaking his duck with Blues' first chance.

Seb Larsson swung in a left-wing corner and Johnson was first to the ball and poked it goalwards but Robert Green was able to scramble it away and it eventually came out to Liam Ridgewell who was also denied by the Hammers keeper.

Blues maintained their early pressure as Scott Dann's floated cross found Larsson in a good position on the six yard box but the winger was unable to get sufficient power on his header to trouble Green.

The visitors' first effort of note came from Junior Stanilas but the 20-year-old's shot was always on the rise and flew into the massed ranks of Blues fans in the Tilton Road.

But it was the home side that continued to be the dominant force during the opening stages and Bowyer connected to Barry Ferguson's cross but the ball drifted well wide of the target.

And then Christian Benitez turned well on the edge of the area but failed to get any power in his shot which bounced harmlessly into the arms of Green.

The game went into something of a lull midway through the opening period and it was the visitors that broke the monotony as Diamanti flashed two shots just wide of the goal within the space of a minute.

The Italian striker wasn't far away at all with efforts from just outside the area that flew only a yard or so past each of Joe Hart's posts.

At the other end Benitez chased a long hopeful ball that bounced invitingly in front of Green and the Ecuadorian put the Hammers keeper under pressure to such an extent that the England international needed two attempts to eventually claim it.

Blues' best first half opening came on the 45 minute mark when Ridgewell's cross found Jerome in a fantastic position six yards from the goal but unfortunately the striker was unable to get over the ball and his header went a yard or so over the bar.

The hosts did get the ball in the net within a minute of the restart as Benitez latched onto James McFadden's through ball but after rounding the keeper and firing home, the Blues number 11 turned to see the assistant had rightly raised his flag for offside.

But just six minutes later Green was beaten again and this time it did count as top scorer Bowyer fired Blues in front.

The front duo of Jerome and Benitez were involved as they carved open the Hammers backline and the latter's clinical pass put Bowyer clear inside the area and the midfielder kept his composure to fire low under the body of Green.

Blues were not content with just one goal and went in search of the second that would surely have killed the game as a contest.

Benitez was at the heart of another impressive move as he picked up McFadden's pass and laid the ball into the path of Jerome who saw his near-post effort beaten away by Green.

Then Larsson's free-kick prowess almost paid dividends as the Swede's vicious curler was flicked on by Jerome and eventually made its way through to Ridgewell, who was positioned right by the post but the defender was unable to divert the fast-moving ball goalwards and instead it looped over the bar.

The visitors then enjoyed a short period of exerted pressure in which Diamanti fired just wide and sub Kieron Dyer went even closer as his delicious curled shot crashed back off the base of Hart's left hand post.

Blues' hopes of seeing out the victory were given a boost when the Hammers were reduced to ten men after Noble brought down Benitez as the striker threatened to break away.

It was the Hammers man's second yellow card in the space of five minutes and was therefore followed by the red.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the visitors twice went close to an equaliser in the final minutes.

Firstly Diamante's free-kick curled inches over the bar and then Guillermo Franco broke clear but Hart narrowed the angle well and saved the shot with his legs.

Jerome had a golden opportunity to seal victory as he raced clear but though his shot beat Green, it bounced just wide of the post.

There were some heart-stopping moments during the final stages as West Ham laid siege on the visitors' goal which lived a charmed life with the Blues players throwing themselves in front of every ball like their lives depended on it.

Five minutes of injury time further raised the tension levels but the home side stood firm and another three points lifted Blues up to eighth in the Premier League table, on the same number of points as Liverpool.

Yeung will be back in his seat in the St. Andrew's directors' box on Tuesday evening as Blues look to continue their fantastic run as they entertain Blackburn Rovers.

Blues: Joe Hart, Stephen Carr, Liam Ridgewell, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Seb Larsson, Lee Bowyer, Barry Ferguson, James McFadden (Kevin Phillips 90), Cameron Jerome, Christian Benitez (Keith Fahey 90).
Subs (not used): Maik Taylor, Gary McSheffrey, James O'Shea, Lee Carsley, Gregory Vignal.
Goal: Bowyer (52)
Bookings: Ferguson (15), Ridgewell (60), Johnson (78)

West Ham: Robert Green, Daniel Gabbidon, Scott Parker, Guillermo Franco, Radoslav Kovac (Kieron Dyer 68), Mark Noble, Julien Faubert, Herita Ilunga (Frank Nouble 83), James Tomkins, Alessandro Diamanti, Junior Stanilas (Jack Collison 68).
Subs (not used): Peter Kurucz, Jonathan Spector, Manuel Da Costa, Joshua Payne.
Bookings: Kovac (11), Diamanti (45), Noble (73)

Attendance: 28,203 (3,667 away fans)

You can download a free copy of the teamsheet by clicking here Blues v West Ham team sheet 12-12-09