Andy Carroll continued his fine form as he scored a brace to lead West Ham United to a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

The Hammers striker opened the scoring after nine minutes before restoring the West Ham lead after Cristhian Stuani had levelled for Boro.

Jonathan Calleri sealed the win in second half injury time as he notched his first West Ham goal with a deflected effort.

The win sees Slaven Bilic’s side climb to 10th in the league, but came at a cost as both Carroll and Mark Noble limped off with second half injuries.

With the FA Cup taking centre stage next weekend, the Irons are next in action against Manchester City on February 1.

The Hammers could have taken the lead inside two minutes as Aaron Cresswell broke free but Michail Antonio somehow failed to convert his low cross.

The visitors would not have to wait long for the breakthrough, however, after Manuel Lanzini’s corner from the left was powerfully headed home by Carroll.

Boro’s marking left a lot to be desired as Carroll arrived unchecked in the six yard box to convert from six yards.

With just 17 goals in the league to their name heading into the match, Boro fans would have been forgiven for expecting their side to struggle to get back into the game.

But they were level after 27 minutes as a well worked team move saw Callum Chambers send in a low cross from the right for Stuani to convert from close range.

The goal imbued the home side with a renewed sense of confidence and they had the better of the following 10 minutes.

They could easily have gone ahead when Adama Traore twice broke clear on the right wing and sent in threatening low crosses.

His first pass forced Sam Byram to turn behind and his second should have led to a second goal for Boro, but Alvaro Negredo couldn’t apply a finish under pressure from Winston Reid.

It was the Hammers who struck before the interval though as Victor Valdes failed to hold Antonio’s low drive from distance.

The former Barcelona keeper could only parry the effort back into his six yard box and Carroll converted the rebound for his second.

Slaven Bilic’s side should have had a penalty in injury time after George Friend upended Sofiane Feghouli, but Martin Atkinson awarded a corner instead.

The Hammers should have put the game to bed just two minutes after the restart as Carroll turned provider for Lanzini.

The England international’s though ball set Lanzini clear on goal but he placed his shot straight at Valdes after struggling to control the initial pass.

Darren Randolph had precious little to do in the first 45 minutes but had to be at his best to prevent Middlesbrough pulling level for a second time.

A static Pedro Obiang was easily outjumped by Marten De Roon and headed towards the bottom left corner, only to be denied by the West Ham number one.

He was fortunate not to be picking the ball out of his net just after the hour as the ever impressive Traore released Negredo on the left wing.

The Spaniard’s cross looked to be routine for Cresswell but his attempted clearance struck Stuani and cannoned back off the crossbar.

In a half of few chances, Calleri had a golden one to seal the three points for United with nine minutes remaining.

The Argentine approached the opportunity like a man short on confidence, snatching at a first-time volley after being put through on goal by his compatriot Lanzini.

Rudy Gestede went close to snatching a late point for the hosts as his acrobatic volley dropped just wide.

The Hammers put the result beyond all doubt with a minute of added time remaining when Lanzini pulled the ball back to Calleri and his side footed strike deflected in off Adam Clayton.

Middlesbrough: Vlades: Chambers, Benardo, Gibson, Friend, Clayton, Forshaw (Getsede 83), De Roon, Traore, Stuani (Bamford 81), Negredo

Subs not used: Guzan, Fabio, Leadbitter, Downing, Fischer

West Ham United: Randolph; Byram, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Antonio, Noble (c) (Fernandes 54), Obiang, Feghouli (Collins 83), Lanzini, Carroll (Calleri 67)

Subs not used: Adrian; Fletcher, Oxford, Quina

Bookings: Lanzini (foul on Traore 6), Gibson (foul on Antonio 80), Bernardo (foul on Lanzini 83)

Referee: Martin Atkinson