LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Igor Thiago scored his 22nd Premier League goal as Brentford beat West Ham United 3-0 to boost their hopes of qualifying for Europe and dent West Ham's survival hopes on Saturday.
Brazilian forward Thiago converted from the penalty spot early in the second half to double the lead given to the hosts by a Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal after 15 minutes.
Luckless West Ham hit the woodwork three times and also had an equaliser ruled out for offside by VAR.
Mikkel Damsgaard's cool finish late on secured the victory for Brentford that put them in sixth place with 51 points.
West Ham remain in 17th position, two points above Tottenham Hotspur who could leapfrog them out of the relegation zone if they win at Aston Villa on Sunday.
Thiago will take the headlines as Brentford dream of creeping into the Champions League via the back door.
But this derby was as much about West Ham's ill fortune as they blew the chance to put five points between themselves and Tottenham in the scrap to avoid the drop.
A frantic first half was 15 minutes old when Brentford took the lead in strange fashion. Keane Lewis-Potter's deep cross was turned against his own post by West Ham's Crysencio Summerville and as Mavropanos stretched to try and stop the rebound falling to Michael Kayode, he could only turn the ball into his own net off the underside of the crossbar.
West Ham almost levelled when Valentin Castellanos's low shot struck the post and they thought they had done when Mavropanos converted at the back post from a deep free kick but his celebrations were premature as VAR ruled it marginally offside.
Castellanos had his head in his hands again when his flicked header from a Jarrod Bowen corner hit the inside of the post as the home side rode their luck.
Brentford, who had drawn five of their last six in the league, were the better side after the break and doubled their lead when El Hadji Malick Diouf fouled Dango Ouattara just inside the area and Thiago made no mistake from the spot.
Summerville's shot struck the underside of the crossbar as West Ham battled for a lifeline but the visiting fans began leaving in droves after Damsgaard's measured finish in the 82nd minute wrapped up a satisfying day for Brentford.
Should Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish in the top five, sixth place would be enough for a Champions League qualifying spot and Brentford are firmly in the hunt.
With three games left they have 51 points, one more than Brighton and Hove Albion whose hopes were hit by a 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United. Bournemouth are on 49 with a game in hand.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)
