Huddersfield 1 West Ham 0 By Simon Wilkes, PA Sport

Huddersfield striker Alex Dyer burst West Ham's Coca-Cola Cup bubble with a brilliant header to seal a 1-0 win in the first leg at the McAlpine Stadium.

Dyer, who scored in Huddersfield's 2-2 draw with Ipswich on Saturday, rose unmarked at the far post in the 75th minute to beat the lunging Ludek Miklosko with ease.

But Harry Redknapp's side only had themselves to blame for the defeat, with strikers John Hartson and Paul Kitson guilty of wasting several clear-cut chances.

Kitson, replaced by Iain Dowie at half-time, spurned the Hammers best chance of the game when he was denied by keeper Steve Francis after 21 minutes.

Hartson won a flick-on to release the former Newcastle striker, who powered his way past defender Jon Dyson but shot straight at Francis from 12 yards out.

And Hartson himself was unlucky after 50 minutes when his stinging right-foot shot from a Michael Hughes cross hit the post and was cleared by Dyson.

Midfielder Frank Lampard was also guilty of missing the target when it seemed easier to score just after the break.

A throw-in from West Ham skipper Steve Lomas was flicked on by Hartson and Lampard, running in at the near post, nudged the ball wide from three yards out.

As the game wore on, both sets of fans became increasingly frustrated at their teams' failure to break the deadlock.

Huddersfield substitute Simon Baldry, who has come up through the reserves, came closest to scoring for the home side when his goal-bound effort from a Paul Dalton cross was cleared by the impressive Rio Ferdinand on 55 minutes.

Then, as West Ham poured forward in search of an elusive goal, Hudderfield counter-attacked and Dyer hammered the nail into the visitor's coffin to boost his side's confidence for the second leg.

Teams

Huddersfield: Francis, Jenkins, Martin (Baldry 46), Dyson, Gray, Edmondson, Dalton (Hurst 89), Makel, Stewart, Dyer, Burnett.

Subs Not Used: Lawson.

Booked: Gray.

Goals: Dyer 75.

West Ham: Miklosko, Breacker, Unsworth, Potts, Ferdinand, Hughes, Berkovic, Lampard, Lomas, Hartson, Kitson (Dowie 46).

Subs Not Used: Sealey, Rowland.

Booked: Unsworth, Ferdinand, Kitson.

Att: 8,525

Ref: C R Wilkes (Gloucester).