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West Ham looked damaged beyond repair when they fell seven points below Nottingham Forest in early January. Two months on, they could be forgiven for wondering why anyone was worried in the first place. It has been a remarkable turnaround from Nuno Espírito Santo’s side and, while there is still a long way to go, they will know that survival is within reach after closing on Forest and Tottenham thanks to a deserved victory over Fulham.

The only disappointment for Nuno was that a first win in four games was not enough to lift West Ham out of the bottom three. Yet while they remain below Forest on goal difference, as well as a point off Spurs, the direction of travel is clear. West Ham have momentum. They are scrapping for everything and capitalised on an unfocused performance from Fulham, with a rejuvenated Crysencio Summerville scoring his seventh goal in 10 games after an error from Bernd Leno midway through the second half.

West Ham’s hopes had been raised by Harry Wilson missing out with an ankle injury. Lined up in an old-school 4-4-2 system, they were assertive with their pressing and troubled Fulham with a direct approach. Composure, though, was lacking at first. Taty Castellanos was unable to get enough whip on a shot in the opening minute, allowing Leno to save, and there were hints of anxiety when a flowing counterattack ended with Jarrod Bowen slashing a rushed shot wide after half an hour.

Fulham had offered little as an attacking force before Bowen’s miss. Tom Cairney was smothered by Tomas Soucek in midfield. Having taken Tottenham apart on Sunday, the hosts found West Ham a sturdier proposition. Axel Disasi and Jean-Clair Todibo were sticking close to the wily Raúl Jiménez and, while there was a lot to like about Fulham’s neat approach play, they struggled to find space behind West Ham’s compact back four.

There was nothing between the sides before half-time. West Ham wanted a penalty when Alex Iwobi blocked a corner with an arm. Aaron Wan-Bissaka earned a booking for an embarrassing dive.

Callum Wilson shot over from the edge of the area. Mateus Fernandes picking up an early yellow card was a problem for West Ham. They feared the worst when the influential midfielder was harshly adjudged to have tripped Josh King on the edge of the area. If anything it looked like a foul by King, who later drew a good save from Mads Hermansen after a sharp turn, but it was hard to work out why there was no second booking for Fernandes once the decision went against him.

West Ham breathed a sigh of relief. They pushed at the start of the second half, a Soucek header drawing another smart stop from Leno. Fulham responded through a run from Iwobi. His cutback ran to Cairney, who kicked Castellanos while preparing to shoot. Matthew Donohue, the on-pitch referee, infuriated Marco Silva by reversing his decision to give a penalty after a review.

Fulham grew irritable. Their passing was messy and their wingers were quiet. West Ham were calling all the shots. Leno had to react quickly to stop Samuel Chukwueze scoring an own goal and there was more frustration for West Ham when nobody met a teasing delivery from Summerville.

West Ham were sharper, more aggressive. With 25 minutes left, Bowen raced after a long ball down the right. The captain’s willingness to chase a lost cause was crucial and typified West Ham’s desire.

Fulham, meanwhile, dithered. Leno came out of his area to mop up, only to make a mess by leaving the ball to Calvin Bassey, allowing Summerville to seize possession, advance and spark wild celebrations in the away end by guiding a nerveless finish into the empty net.

Fulham looked to raise their level by bringing on Rodrigo Muniz, Oscar Bobb and Emile Smith Rowe. The pressure was intense during the closing stages. Iwobi and Muniz sent efforts over and an equaliser looked certain when Timothy Castagne let fly with a low shot, only for Hermansen to make a stunning stop, earn West Ham their fourth clean sheet of the season and keep them dreaming of an unlikely escape.