Roeder on the brink as Beattie sinks Hammers

West Ham United 0 Southampton 1

Football's cruelty is as compelling as its beauty, and for aficionados of pain last night's match at a deeply troubled Upton Park was an exquisite delight.

After West Ham had put heart and soul into losing the tag of being the only team in the four English leagues not to have won a home match this season, they saw all their efforts reduced to nothing by a finely crafted goal from James Beattie a minute into injury time.

As the Southampton striker drove home substitute Brett Ormerod's perfect left-wing cross at the near post, several of the home side dropped to their knees in dismay.

The result leaves West Ham bottom of the Premiership; where it leaves their beleaguered manager Glenn Roeder is open to question. Roeder was subdued but defiant afterwards. "I've been here before and this isn't my lowest moment," he said. "I'll fight on. I don't know any other way. We were not lacking in belief, but we didn't finish the chances we made. The crowd were behind us, although they became frustrated at the end. They were the same feelings we had in the dressing room. But it is a game of chance and that's the beauty of it."

Defeat in this fixture last season saw Southampton sack their manager, Stuart Gray, the next day. West Ham are a traditionally stable club, but the pressure for something to change at Upton Park grows stronger. That said, a change of luck would do wonders.

Home hopes of victory diminished when Frédéric Kanouté was not deemed fit enough to make the substitutes' bench following his nine-week absence with a groin injury. Roeder, who has spoken of his side's need for a strong presence up front, therefore pushed his central defender Ian Pearce forward.

Pearce is no striker, but he did his best to contribute in a first half which was totally dominated by the home side. Twice in the first 15 minutes West Ham created chances that went narrowly wide – the first from Jermain Defoe and the second from Trevor Sinclair. After 35 minutes, Pearce's moment of potential glory arrived as he was put through by Joe Cole. However, he drove the ball hard but straight at Southampton's goalkeeper Antti Niemi.

Southampton had arrived late at the ground after being stuck in traffic. "If the police hadn't come and got us," their manager, Gordon Strachan, said, "we would have missed the game. In fact, we missed the first half." Strachan's assessment was not far from the truth, although late chances for Beattie and Rory Delap hinted at how things might still go wrong for West Ham.

The home side appeared to have heeded the warning after the break, but what Strachan described as their "cup-tie" football began to flag as the half wore on and it seemed they were destined merely to avoid defeat. Their goalkeeper David James put the match in jeopardy seven minutes from time as he dallied over a clearance and almost allowed Delap to score after dispossessing him.

Southampton might also have had a penalty midway through the second half when Thomas Repka bundled Beattie over. Strachan remained non-committal over that decision, but stressed that his team had finished the stronger of the two sides. "I know how hard it hit West Ham to concede a goal in injury time. But we've had three of those this year."

The difference is that Southampton are upwardly mobile and West Ham are still flat on their metaphorical back.

West Ham United (4-4-2): James 5; Schemmel 7, Repka 7, Dailly 6, Winterburn 6; Sinclair 4, Di Canio 8 (Moncur, 79), Carrick 7, Cole 7; Pearce 5, Defoe 7. Substitutes not used: Van der Gouw (gk), Minto, Breen, Camara.

Southampton (4-4-2): Niemi 8; Dodd 5, M Svensson 5, Lundekvam 6, Bridge 5; Fernandes 6 (Williams, 90), Delap 5, Oakley 4 (Ormerod 5, 66), Marsden 6; Beattie 5, Delgado 3 (A Svensson 7, h-t). Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Telfer.

Referee: M Riley (Leeds) 6.