Joe Ralls' penalty miss proved costly for Cardiff City as Lucas Perez scored twice to help West Ham to a 3-1 Premier League win at London Stadium.
Having replaced the injured Marko Arnautovic late in the first half, Perez followed up his first Premier League goal since January 2017 with a second just five minutes later to put the game beyond Cardiff.
Things would have been different, however, had Ralls converted from 12 yards in the 35th minute, with Lukasz Fabianski pulling off a comfortable save from the midfielder's tame strike.
And although the loss of Arnautovic seemed to have derailed West Ham's chances, replacement Perez took centre stage before Michail Antonio wrapped up the points just after the hour, meaning Josh Murphy's late header was no more than a consolation for the visitors.