Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 West Ham United

Brighton manager Chris Hughton says his team will survive in the Premier League if they can replicate their performance in beating a lacklustre West Ham 3-1 at the Amex.

After a quiet start to the second period, Jose Izquierdo produced a moment of quality, curling into the top right-hand corner with his right foot from the angle of the penalty area, before Pascal Gross slammed a third from 20 yards.

"If we can put in more performances like this before the end of the season, then we'll be OK," Hughton told BBC Sport.

Hughton said Izquierdo's goal "lifted the stadium", adding: "The most pleasing thing was that at 2-1 we could have been nervous and sat back on it but we didn't."

• Relive Brighton's fine performance

Brighton were more vibrant throughout and rarely came under threat in the second period as they sealed a first league win in seven outings.

They climbed to 13th in the table, a place below West Ham. Both sides sit three points above the relegation zone.

Izquierdo adds class to energetic Brighton

Defeat ended West Ham's six-game unbeaten run in the league and they disappointed on the south coast.

Lining up with three central defenders and two deep-sitting midfielders in Mark Noble and Pablo Zabaleta, they offered sparse threat.

Despite their record of one win in 14 league games coming into the fixture, Brighton played with an energy and confidence.

Gross consistently found space in front of the away defence, while left-back Gaetan Bong carried threat going forward, repeatedly offering his side an option.

This was the first time Brighton have scored three goals in a Premier League game since they won at West Ham in October. They could have scored more, with 21 shots on the day, only five of which found the target.

Hughton's side had only scored five goals in 13 league games before the match but Murray remains their go-to man. His calm finish set them on their way and, while he was replaced by January loan signing Leonardo Ulloa late on, it looks unlikely the 34-year-old will lose his place.

Hernandez's smart equaliser - firing in off the bar - briefly stifled the home side but Izquierdo's effort prompted wild celebrations and they never looked back.

Gross ruthlessly punished a loose James Collins pass with a crisp effort to effectively end the contest and the home side could have scored more, with substitutes Beram Kayal and Solly March going close.

Just three points separate Watford in 11th and Huddersfield in 19th in the table, pointing to a chaotic relegation scrap.

But if Hughton gets his wish and his side find more displays like this, they stand every chance of beating the drop.

Hammers anger compounded

Despite not seeing their side lose in the league since 23 December, West Ham's travelling fans aired their frustrations by regularly chanting "sack the board" in protest at what they perceive as a lack of spending in the January transfer window.

It has been a difficult week for the club. Defender Arthur Masuaku was banned for six games for spitting in last week's FA Cup defeat at Wigan, and West Ham sacked director of player recruitment Tony Henry for controversial comments on Friday.

Murray's goal on eight minutes only added to their difficulties as they paid for a slow start, while their back three and defensive midfielders struggled to contain the movement of Gross and Anthony Knockaert.

January signing Joao Mario briefly looked like he may have an impact. The Brazilian smartly guided a flick into Hernandez for the equaliser and became more involved before half-time, when West Ham enjoyed their best spell.

But their intent ended there as they failed to create another meaningful opening after the break. Striker Jordan Hugill - signed from Preston for a reported £10m on deadline day - appeared from the bench late on, when attacks were sporadic and timid.

Moyes pointed to the "world-class" nature of Izquierdo's goal but said his side were not at their best.

Their haul of only four shots makes for tough reading on a day when they were well beaten.

Man of the Match - Jose Izquierdo

'As good as we've been' - manager reaction

Brighton boss Chris Hughton: "We probably dropped our levels halfway through that first half. We were disappointed to go in at 1-1.

"Thankfully we got a very good reaction and the second half was as good as we've been in looking like scoring goals."

West Ham manager David Moyes: "We've been on a good run recently and stuck at games, but we weren't really at the pitch of this game from the off.

"It was a world-class second goal and very difficult to stop. It showed that we had to field the same team again as midweek but Brighton played in midweek so it's no excuse for us.

"I'm a little bit frustrated by the transfer window - we needed a third player but didn't get that at the end. So I'm OK with bits of it, disappointed with other bits."

Hernandez the poacher - key stats

• West Ham have lost four Premier League games in a season against newly promoted sides for only the second time (twice v Brighton, twice v Newcastle), after also doing so in 2006-07.
• Glenn Murray has scored five goals in his past seven appearances in all competitions for Brighton, as many as he managed in his previous 19 games this season.
• Pascal Gross has been directly involved in 11 Premier League goals this season (5 goals, 6 assists), more than any other Brighton player.
• Javier Hernandez netted his 43rd Premier League goal, all of which have come from inside the penalty area. He is second only to Tim Cahill among players who have only scored goals from inside the box (56).

Up next?

Brighton face another relegation battle when they travel to Stoke next Saturday (15:00 GMT), when West Ham host Watford.