Matt Jarvis scored his first West Ham goal in Monday night's 2-1 away win at QPR. Pic: Nick Potts/PA

QPR 1 West Ham United 2

The Hammers climbed into the heady heights of seventh-spot thanks to this wonderful win over a ragged Rangers side, who remain bottom of the Premier League table.

In a feisty free-flowing West-East derby, the recalled Matt Jarvis got Sam Allardyce’s side off to a flying start before Ricardo Vaz Te doubled the lead before the break.

And although the newly-arrived Adel Taarabt gave Mark Hughes hope with a brilliant second-half reply, West Ham – who had eight players booked – showed the strength and resolve to hold out for victory over a QPR outfit who were reduced to ten men after another substitute – Samba Diakite – was dismissed for two yellow cards.

Having made nine changes for the Capital One Cup capitulation against Wigan Athletic in midweek, it was Premier League business as usual for Allardyce as he made just one switch from the side that had drawn with Sunderland nine days earlier.

With his side kicking off in mid-table, Big Sam opted to bring a slightly different blend to west London with a change of Matt as Jarvis came in for Taylor, while the surprisingly fit-again Andy Carroll took a shock berth on the bench.

And the £10.5million summer signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers wasted no time painting Loftus Road claret and blue, with his third-minute opener.

Vaz Te’s clever right-wing cut-back to the edge of the area was met by an off-balance Kevin Nolan, who could only scuff the ball towards the far post but fortunately for the Hammers skipper, Jarvis arrived in the six-yard box to nod the ball into the far corner.

Having taken that early lead, West Ham were not far away from doubling their advantage, when the powerful Mohamed Diame drove forward before unleashing a powerful 20-yarder that deflected inches wide.

As well as sitting in the Premier League basement, Rangers had also been dumped out of the Capital One Cup last week and following their defeat at the hands of Reading, Hughes made a trio of changes as Ryan Nelsen, Shaun Wright-Phillips and ex-Hammer Bobby Zamora came back into the fold.

And while there was no sign of Anton Ferdinand (hamstring) and - perhaps predictably - Kieron Dyer, both Hogan Ephraim and Robert Green were on the bench, where the former Upton Park ‘keeper was repeatedly asked the score by the 1,681 gloating West Ham fans packed high above replacement Jussi Jaaskelainen’s goal.

Midway through the first-half, those visiting supporters had a birds-eye view of QPR’s first real threat of the night when Esteban Granero sent in a curling free-kick, which saw the green-shirted, flying Finn knock-out Winston Reid as Joey O’Brien hooked the ball off the line.

After a lengthy stoppage, the pole-axed Kiwi was replaced by James Tomkins and, 10 minutes later, O’Brien trudged away, too, as George McCartney stepped from the bench.

Those two defensive switches failed to knock West Ham out of their stride though and, on 35 minutes, Big Sam’s side snatched their second following a goalmouth scramble that saw Tomkins send over a deep cross to the far upright, where Vaz Te expertly hooked the ball between the flapping Julio Cesar and his near post.

Quite simply, the home defence had endured a woeful opening period, whereas at the other end, Allardyce’s re-shuffled rearguard coped with anything that Rangers tried to throw at them.

A string of uncompromising headers from James Collins underlined the visitors’ determination, while bookings for Diame and Mark Noble for forceful challenges on wide boys Wright-Phillips and Ji-Sung Park reinforced the East End energy that was going into this performance.

And when Djibril Cisse did finally get within range, Jaaskelainen was on hand to athletically divert the ball over the bar and preserve that two-goal buffer at the interval.

Just after the restart, Diame again bulldozed into the area before unleashing an angled blazer that Cesar beat aside and, in a bid the settle the restless natives of Shepherds Bush, Hughes responded with a double-substitution that saw Taarabt and Diakite replace Wright-Phillips and Park.

That switch had an instant impact for within seconds of his arrival, Taarabt – curiously wearing gloves on a mild October night – cut in from the left flank before curling an unstoppable 20-yarder around the jockeying Guy Demel, beyond the static Jaaskelainen and under the far angle.

Suddenly, from looking rock solid, West Ham were now wobbling and in an outbreak of yellow fever, referee Mark Clattenburg went caution crazy, booking McCartney and Cole for fouls on Diakite and Clint Hill, while Jaaskelainen was pulled up for time-wasting and Nolan for dissent.

Crucially, Diakite was also booked for upending Vaz Te and, after Carroll replaced Cole, who had just squandered a glorious one-on-one opening, the recently arrived QPR substitute then saw red for a reckless lunge on Demel.

By now, it was breathless at the Bush as Jaaskelainen produced two stunning stops to deny Granero and Cisse, while at the end Cesar produced a stupendous save to push Vaz Te’s scorching shot onto the crossbar.

Collins was cautioned for kicking the ball away before Tomkins became the eighth Hammer to be booked for time-wasting in six minutes of stoppage time that saw Jaaskelainen brilliantly thwart Alejandro Faurlin to ensure that West Ham win.

QPR: Cesar, Onuoha (Hoilett 84), Hill, Nelsen, Mbia, Wright-Phillips (Taarabt 56), Park (Diakite 56), Granero, Fauerlin, Zamora, Cisse. Unused subs: Green, Mackie, Ephraim, Ehmer.

Hammers: Jaaskelainen, Demel, O’Brien (McCartney 34) Reid (Tomkins 23), Collins, Noble, Diame, Nolan, Vaz Te, Jarvis, Cole (Carroll 72). Unused subs: Henderson, O’Neil, Benayoun, Maiga.

Booked: Diame (39), Noble (45+5), Diakite (59), McCartney (62), Jaaskelainen (67), Cole (69), Nolan (69), Collins (77), Tomkins (90+2)

Sent-Off: Diakite (75)

Referee: Mark Clattenburg.

Attendance: 17,363