Reading 0
West Ham 3
Bellamy 6, Etherington 49, Etherington 90
Reading 0 West Ham 3 September 01 2007
West Ham enjoyed revenge for last season's 6-0 humilation at Reading as Craig Bellamy and Matthew Etherington scored in a 3-0 victory.
Bellamy opened the scoring when Lee Bowyer sent him galloping away from his marker to drill a low and perfectly angled effort past goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
And the Hammers doubled their advantage four minutes after the break when Etherington exchanged passes with Bellamy before smashing ball into the roof of the net.
Reading were presented with the perfect chance to get back into the game 14 minutes from time when Hammers goalkeeper felled Dave Kitson in the box, but he redeemed himself by saving Kevin Doyle's spot-kick at full stretch.
And Etherington capped a good day for Alan Curbishley's men in injury time when he drilled home a left-footed strike after a solo run for his second of the game.