LONDON: West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen struck midway through the second half to secure a deserved 2-1 Premier League home win on Monday over Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose poor defending cost them again as they languish second-bottom in the standings. Wolves conceded three minutes after equalising to stay in 19th spot on nine points from 15 games, while West Ham are 14th with 18 points. The 38 goals Wolves have conceded is the highest total in the top flight this season. The game featured a minutes applause after the ninth minute for 34-year-old Ham­mers striker Michail Antonio, who is recovering in hospital following surgery on a fractured leg sustained in a car crash on Saturday. With both managers — West Ham’s Julen Lopetegui and Wolves’ Gary O’Neil — struggling to turn things around after their teams’ disappointing starts to the season, the pre-match talk was all about whose job was most at risk. After forcing a slew of set pieces in a scoreless first half, it was Lopetegui’s Hammers who broke the deadlock in the 54th minute through Tomas Soucek from their 10th corner. The Wolves defence left the Czech midfielder unmarked at the far post to send a looping header across goal into the net, and he immediately ran to a TV camera holding up nine fingers in a tribute to Antonio, who wears number nine for the Hammers. The goal was the eighth Wolves have conceded from a corner and the 15th from a set piece excluding penalties this season, more than any other top flight team. Wolves managed to level through Matt Doh­e­rty in the 69th minute with a superbly taken scooped volley into the corner shortly after they had a strong penalty appeal turned town. The lead was short-lived as Wolves’ defensive frailties were exposed again, with Bowen jinking onto his left foot in the box before burying the ball in the corner three minutes later. Deflated after conceding so soon following their equaliser, Wolves struggled to create any momentum and, a few harmless off-target shots aside, they barely threatened the West Ham goal in the final minutes as the hosts held on comfortably to win and move nine points clear of the relegation zone. In the aftermath of last week’s 3-1 loss at Leicester City, Lopetegui was reported to have survived a board meeting about his position. But the Spaniard, who replaced David Moyes in the close-season, must build on this valuable victory over the team he managed in the 2022-23 season before he can fully relax. “I don’t talk about noise, I talk about football. If you ask me about football, I will. A win is always good for me,” Lopetegui said. “The fans have supported us a lot through the bad times. I’m happy for them.” O’Neil, who played for West Ham from 2011 to 2013, heard Wolves fans call for his dismissal during their 4-0 thrashing at Everton on Wednesday. Now he will anxiously await the verdict from the Wolves board on his future, which looks bleak after the latest blow to Wolves’ survival hopes. O’Neil admitted he was under pressure but insisted that his team were still giving it their all. “I’m bit disappointed for them, really, because it was a decent away performance under a lot of pressure,” he told Sky Sports. “I can only ask them to give what they give, and they’re giving absolutely everything, so I hope the supporters are still proud of what they see from the players.”