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Crisis? What crisis? West Ham’s manager Alan Curbishley was a satisfied man after this very timely triumph. With first-choice players seemingly leaving Upton Park in procession, a gruesome 3-0 defeat at Manchester City last weekend, a very uneasy 4-1 League Cup win in midweek over humble Macclesfield, the Hammers indeed seemed in potential turmoil.

A few days earlier they had been obliged to sell their promising young centre-back Anton Ferdinand to Sunderland, looming on the horizon is a court case, the result of all that controversy over the signing of Carlos Tevez two seasons ago, in which the Hammers are being sued by Sheffield United, plus rumours that Carlton Cole, who hammered the last nail into Blackburn’s coffin here, may himself be on the way out of the club.

The wonder of it was that Blackburn, who had reduced a 2-0 lead to 2-1 and missed a penalty that could have levelled matters, capitulated pitifully during second-half stoppage time when first Craig Bellamy, on as a 67th-minute substitute for his first match of the season, then Cole, drove home two more West Ham goals to humiliate Paul Ince’s team.

Ince, as was generally expected, not least by himself, was greeted by a hostile chorus of “Stand up if you hate Paul Ince”. West Ham fans seem never to forget that distant moment when Ince, on his way out of Upton Park, where he had begun as a 10-year-old, was photographed posing in the jersey of Manchester United, whom he was just about to join. But, by the end of this curious affair, even the most vindictive West Ham fan must have been all but assuaged.

What collapsed in those closing minutes was the whole left flank of the Blackburn defence, the more surprising as, in Stephen Warnock, they have a left-back who, at times, has shown international class. However, for the second half, someone, perhaps his partner Ryan Nelsen, should have called on him to move out towards the left flank, rather than leave super-abundant spaces that West Ham gleefully exploited.

For the first of those two late goals, Warnock was culpably out of position and Bellamy exploited the consequent lightning cross to smash his shot past Paul Robinson. Then, again on the right, Valon Behrami had moved forward from right-back after the effective French winger, Julien Faubert, had been forced off after a heavy fall, he sent the ball across as Lucas Neill previously had. When Scott Parker, lively, industrious and effective in midfield together with Mark Noble, flicked on, there was Cole to crack in West Ham’s fourth goal.

It has to be said that West Ham’s defence hardly looked concrete, even though it was not so prone to give second chances as was Blackburn’s central rearguard pairing. But up front it was one of West Ham’s centre-backs, in the shape of Calum Davenport, who forcefully headed in a left-wing corner by Faubert after just 12 minutes to give the home side the lead.

Eight minutes later, West Ham scored something of a fortunate goal when Faubert crossed, Noble got in a shot, Christopher Samba, the Blackburn central defender, tried unsuccessfully to deal with it and the ball found its way past Robinson into the net, with Dean Ashton following it up. Blackburn protested angrily, but in vain that the goal was offside.

Just two minutes later Jason Roberts, always vigorous and sometimes excessively so, brought the score to 2-1 after an attempted clearance by Behrami found the Rovers striker, who swiftly and skilfully turned Davenport on the left and scored.

On 31 minutes Warnock, looking rather better in attack than defence, sent over a cross which Roberts got his head to and Matt Derbyshire seemed to touch over the line. Was the goal offside? Mike Riley, the referee, thought so; Blackburn did not.

Throughout the game West Ham’s Matthew Etherington was playing as a classical left winger, with plenty of pace and a fine left foot, putting over searching crosses in double-quick time. One of them, on 37 minutes, gave Cole a clear chance, but his header flew well over the top.

After a couple of minutes of the second half, Morten Gamst Pedersen sent in a free kick, a hand — courtesy of Cole — went up, a penalty was given, but Roberts took it inadequately, enabling Robert Green to go full length and turn the ball away. The West Ham goalkeeper has a habit of doing so, after three successful spot-kick saves last season.

After that, chances were at a premium until the 63rd minute, when Derbyshire — a lively substitute for Blackburn’s leading scorer Roque Santa Cruz — beat Green to the ball on the edge of the West Ham box, only to shoot over the bar.

Curbishley was predictably delighted: “Blackburn demonstrated what they are: a very good side. We raced into a 2-0 lead but they were always in the game, forcing the issue.” He had particular praise for Green, his goalkeeper, who made “a fantastic save”.

As for Paul Ince, he said: “We took the game to them in the second half and had enough chances but it wasn’t to be.”

West Ham: Green 7, Behrami 6, Upson 6, Davenport 6, Neill 6, Faubert 7 (McCartney 59min, 6), Parker 7, Noble 7 (Mullins 81min), Etherington 7, Cole 7, Ashton 7 (Bellamy 67min)

Blackburn: Robinson 6, Ooijer 6, Samba 6, Nelsen 5, Warnock 5, Emerton 7, Reid 7, Grella 5 (Andrews h-t, 6), Pedersen 7 (Treacy 65min), Santa Cruz 6 (Derbyshire 28min, 7), Roberts 7

Star man: Mark Noble (West Ham)

Yellow cards: West Ham: Bellamy. Blackburn: Ooijer, Emerton, Grella, Roberts, Nelsen

Referee: M Riley

Attendance: 32,905