West Ham United ended a run of seven games without a win with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Sunday, while Tottenham Hotspur beat Blackburn Rovers by the same score to climb out of the relegation zone, dpa reported.
Valon Behrami got the only goal of the game at the Stadium of LIght after 20 minutes, gathering a half-cleared free-kick and stroking his first for the club with the help of a deflection off Kenwyne Jones.
Sunderland responded brightly and, after being denied one clear penalty when James Collins wrestled Jones to the ground, were denied another one as Collins hauled down Djibril Cisse - a foul that, if given, would almost certainly have resulted in a red card for the West Ham defender.
Andy Reid hit the bar with an audacious chip, but if Sunderland thought that luck was against them, they were reprieved with an enormous slice of fortune in first=-half injury time.
A slip from Anton Ferdinand let Craig Bellamy through. He was forced wide by goalkeeper Martin Fulop, but when he squared to Behrami, the Swiss midfielder was six yards out and seemed certain to score.
With Ferdinand challenging, though, Behrami blasted the ball against the crossbar.
Sunderland dominated possession after the break, but struggled to create clear chances, and wasted the handful that fell their way, with Cisse especially profligate.
Roman Pavlyuchenko got Tottenham's winner against ten-man Blackburn.
The victory, Tottenham's sixth in eight games since Harry Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos as manager last month, lifts them to fifteenth.
Blackburn, meanwhile, are mired in relegation trouble, second bottom having taken just three points from their last eight games.
Pavlyuchenko swept home Aaron Lennon's cross after nine minutes, and very nearly added a second ten minutes later as his back-header hit the post.
Blackburn's fate was sealed six minutes before half-time as Martin Olsson collected a second yellow card for a foul on the impressive Lennon and was sent off.