FREDDIE SEARS, an 18-year-old home-grown striker, came off the bench to record the most glorious debut for West Ham, scoring the winning goal to bring to an end a sorry sequence of heavy defeats. The England Under-19 international was cheered to the rafters at the end of a week in which he signed a new deal, but his storybook contribution might not have mattered had Dean Ashton not performed such a pivotal role.

With his team reacting nervously to going behind to a Roque Santa Cruz header, his 16th goal of the season, the 24-year-old West Ham striker became the focal point of their gritty come-back. His work ethic, physical presence and well-honed technique proved inspirational as he scored an impressive equalising goal six minutes before the interval, before setting up Sears with nine minutes remaining.

Ashton held off Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili and played a clever backheeled pass into the path of Sears whose youthful sense of destiny accounted for the rest. Brad Friedel, the Blackburn goalkeeper, dived to his right to save the teenager’s first-time shot but Sears followed in and headed home the rebound. The relief made for an intoxicating cocktail and the tedium which characterised much of the game was instantly forgotten.

“Freddie’s just walking around the dressing room with a great big smile on his face, saying nothing, but he’s given everybody a lift,” said Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, who was under pressure after three consecutive 4-0 defeats.

“He was in the side until yesterday because Bobby Zamora had bad blisters on his feet but he had an injection before the game and again at half-time, so Freddie was made to wait. I’d have preferred if he’d knocked it in first-time but he showed a finisher’s instinct and it’s a big result for us.”

West Ham were 12-0 down on aggregate over their previous 270 minutes and the board had been persuaded to issue an ominously-worded statement: “There is no question of Alan Curbishley’s future as manager being called into doubt.” Curbishley referred to “a [media] agenda out there, and it’s directed not just at the team but me personally”. His team responded with an early show of defiance. Nolberto Solano and Freddie Ljungberg attacked along the flanks and the Hammers made an assertive start.

Ashton might have fired them ahead but he just failed to connect with a Solano free kick at the back post. West Ham continued to play with purpose and Ljungberg accelerated across to the right to deliver a low cross, which Friedel managed to intercept after Scott Parker missed a diving header.

West Ham’s confidence did not last. Blackburn winger David Bentley became the dominant influence on the game, producing a succession of quality deliveries from the right to expose the Hammers’ underlying fragility. Bentley played a one-two along the right with David Dunn before whipping in a deep cross to Morten Gamst Pedersen, who headed wide. Blackburn came close again when a Bentley corner was headed over by Christopher Samba, but the pressure told eventually. Bentley supplied another exquisite, long diagonal ball from the right. Pedersen controlled the ball and then measured his pass to Santa Cruz in the centre, the striker’s header beating keeper Robert Green.

For the next 10 minutes the Hammers endured a rocky spell before they managed to play their way back in. A header by Ashton from Zamora’s cross was palmed away by Friedel before the striker shot over from distance. Then Bentley attempted to curl a 25-yard effort into the top left corner but Green read his intentions.

Ashton took it upon himself to be West Ham’s saviour by taking hold of Zamora’s downward header at the edge of the Blackburn penalty area. Turning quickly, he flicked the ball around Samba and finished superbly with a left-footed half-volley past Friedel and inside the far post. “We allowed West Ham back into a game in which we were quite comfortable without hitting any level ourselves, and that’s the disappointment,” reflected Mark Hughes, the Blackburn manager.

The game descended rapidly into an unedifying spectacle in the second half. Zamora tried a speculative 25-yard shot which he dragged wide before Jason Roberts pulled the ball back from the byline for Pedersen, who blasted over.

West Ham’s Hayden Mullins tried hard to impose some method and he set up Ashton for a long-range shot which brought a smart save from Friedel. Then Curbishley made a double substitution, bringing on Mark Noble along with Sears, and the stage was set.

“I was 17 when I scored in my second game for West Ham, here against Newcastle,” Curbishley reminisced. “John Lyall, the manager, asked Frank Lampard Sr to drive me home because he didn’t want me to go home on the bus, which was how I came. Times have changed. No doubt Freddie will be going home in a Hummer.”

Star man: Dean Ashton (West Ham)

Player ratings: West Ham: Green 6, Neill 6, Spector 6, Ferdinand 7, McCartney 6, Solano 6 (Sears 75min), Parker 7 (Noble 75min), Mullins 7, Ljungberg 7 (Pantsil 88min), Zamora 6, Ashton 8
Blackburn: Friedel 6, Emerton 6 (Khizanishvili ht, 5), Ooijer 6, Samba 5, Warnock 6, Bentley 8, Reid 7, Dunn 7 (Derbyshire 71min), Pedersen 7 (McCarthy 90min), Santa Cruz 7, Roberts 6

Scorers: West Ham: Ashton 39, Sears 81 Blackburn: Santa Cruz 19

Yellow cards: West Ham: Ferdinand. Blackburn: Bentley, Dunn, Reid

Referee: M Atkinson

Attendance: 34,006