Crystal Palace deservedly won a seven-goal thriller at West Ham to meet Roy Hodgson’s target of 40 points and keep the Hammers in relegation jeopardy.

Former England manager Hodgson has led Palace to four wins in six games since taking over as manager last month, and the Eagles are now 11 points clear of the bottom three.

The match in south London was delayed by 15 minutes due to a problem with the turnstiles, but there was no shortage of action once it began.

Although West Ham took an early lead when Tomas Soucek capitalized on Michael Olise’s failure to clear a corner, Palace turned the game around with three goals in a 15-minute span.

Within six minutes, Jordan Ayew leveled with a first-time finish at the end of a slick move, before Wilfried Zaha finished from Eberechi Eze’s pass across the six-yard box and Jeffrey Schlupp added a third after dispossessing Soucek.

West Ham added to their first-half dominance by capitalizing on another corner, with Michail Antonio heading in at the back post to cut the gap before the break.

After being fouled by Nayef Aguerd, Eze’s penalty restored Palace’s two-goal lead midway through the second half – but the Hammers defender made amends when the visitors answered with a scruffy third from yet another set-piece.

However, David Moyes’ side were unable to find a late equalizer, and West Ham remain five points above the relegation zone with five games remaining.