By Saj Chowdhury

Ashton was delighted to grab his first goal since 2006

Dean Ashton scored his first goal since the 2006 FA Cup final to help West Ham to victory at the expense of Middlesbrough at Upton Park.

Bowyer opened the scoring after the restart when he picked up Carlton Cole's ball and fired in a low volley.

West Ham made it 2-0 when Cole curled in a low cross that Luke Young could only poke into his own net.

Ashton rounded off the scoring when he tapped in Matthew Etherington's teasing ball from the left.

Interview: West Ham boss Alan Curbishley

Interview: Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate

Interview: West Ham striker Dean Ashton

606: DEBATE What did you think of the match?

Boro themselves had a hatful of chances during the match but seemed to leave their shooting boots at home, with substitute Tuncay Sanli guilty of missing three very good opportunties in the second half.

Before the start of the match, Alan Curbishley's men had looked a good bet for their first home league win of the season with Craig Bellamy in the starting line-up following a scintillating display for Wales in Slovakia.

They began brightly and twice came close to opening the scoring in first 13 minutes.

England Under-21 star Mark Noble gambled on pot luck with a strike from 20 yards that deflected off Boro defender Jonathan Woodgate and trickled fractionally wide of Mark Schwarzer's left-hand upright.

Ashton then thought he had broken this season's duck with a sidefooted effort, but the assistant referee ruled offside to bring his celebrations to a shuddering halt.

Both Ashton and Bellamy were causing Boro's defence problems, but Curbishley was dealt a major setback when the diminutive Welshman was forced to go off with what appeared to be a groin problem.

Boro, who had lost their previous five meetings at Upton Park, also looked threatening in the opening moments of the first-half, coming agonisingly close to scoring when Jeremie Aliadiere saw his low shot from Mido's pass come off Robert Green's left-hand post.

Aliadiere looked to be his team's biggest threat, but like Bellamy he too came off injured, with a hamstring problem.

The match had lost its spark following the loss of the two playmakers, but Bowyer made sure he reignited it after the restart.

The former Leeds and Newcastle player forced his way into the area and connected beautifully with Cole's dinked ball to volley past Schwarzer.

Cole, who was the recipient of jeering from some of Hammers supporters during the first 45, was involved again in the second goal when his low pass from the right was deflected in by Young.

Tuncay, who came on for Aliadiere, should have given Boro hope but he struck the crossbar with a dinked effort then had a six-yard shot saved by Robert Green.

The Turkey player was made to pay for being goal-shy when Ashton stole in in front of his defender to convert Etherington's cross from the left.

This time there was no offside flag and this time Ashton and West Ham could celebrate.

"Two weeks ago against Reading he looked a bit leggy but he's played for the reserves since and it's done him the world of good."

He added: "We won't get carried away. We're a bit like England at the moment in that people are injured and other people have come in and done a job."

"But they have effectively won the match in the first five minutes of the second half.

"It's a harsh lesson for us, we didn't get out of the blocks in the second half, but we'll learn from it."

West Ham: Green, Neill, Collins, Upson, McCartney, Bowyer, Mullins, Noble, Etherington (Boa Morte 78), Bellamy (Cole 26), Ashton (Ljungberg 81).
Subs Not Used: Wright, Gabbidon.

Booked: McCartney, Ljungberg.

Goals: Bowyer 46, Young 51 og, Ashton 62.

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Young, Woodgate, Wheater, Taylor (Davies 83), Boateng, Rochemback (O'Neil 68), Arca, Downing, Aliadiere (Sanli 30), Mido.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Lee.

Booked: Sanli.

Att: 34,351

Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).