Brentford continued their remarkable record against West Ham United with a convincing 2-0 victory at the London Stadium — their seventh win in nine Premier League meetings with the Hammers.

A planned fan boycott left the stands noticeably sparse, but those in attendance initially saw some promise from the hosts, who started brightly in the opening minutes. That early intent quickly faded, however, as Brentford began to assert control.

Kevin Schade was lively from the outset, first hitting the side netting before testing Alphonse Areola twice with headers inside the opening ten minutes. Jarrod Bowen offered a reminder of West Ham’s threat when he flashed a shot wide from a tight angle, before play was briefly halted for treatment to Tomas Soucek after a head injury.

Once play resumed, Brentford ramped up the pressure. Nathan Collins headed over, Dango Ouattara saw a deflected effort go behind, and Igor Thiago rattled the crossbar after meeting Michael Kayode’s cross. Areola was then called into action again, tipping Mikkel Damsgaard’s header wide and rushing off his line to deny Thiago in a one-on-one.

The Bees finally found the breakthrough in the 43rd minute, when a clever ball in behind caught West Ham’s backline out. Areola got a hand to Thiago’s low strike, but couldn’t keep it from creeping over the line. The Brazilian forward thought he’d doubled the lead moments later, only for the flag to rule him narrowly offside.

At half-time, Nuno Espírito Santo responded with a defensive reshuffle, introducing three new defenders in an attempt to steady the ship. Crysencio Summerville brought some energy down the flank but fired well wide, while Soucek saw a rare West Ham chance blocked by Sepp van den Berg. The Dutchman almost punished the hosts further when he headed wide at the other end.

Schade again struck the crossbar midway through the second half, before Bowen blazed high and wide in frustration. Brentford continued to threaten, with Areola denying Thiago once more and Keane Lewis-Potter curling an effort just past the post.

West Ham’s night went from bad to worse when Konstantinos Mavropanos limped off, leaving them with ten men. Brentford made their advantage count in stoppage time, as substitute Mathias Jensen slotted home to seal the points and the Bees’ first away win of the season.

The defeat leaves West Ham still searching for their first Premier League home victory of the campaign — and marks the first time in their top-flight history they’ve lost their opening four home games.