On what was his 94th City appearance, De Jong put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute, powering into the corner of the net from outside the area after the Hammers had failed to deal with a corner. The delight of the Holland international, who joined City from Hamburg in 2009, was clear as he celebrated with his team-mates and De Jong revealed afterwards that the wait to break his duck was something that had started to play on his mind. "The ball bounced off one of the West Ham players and came down to the edge of the box," De Jong told www.mcfc.co.uk "I was standing there so I saw the opportunity to shoot and this time finally it went into the net. "The relief was there. The boys had been asking me when I was going to score my first goal and saying I had lost my touch, and all sorts of thoughts had been getting into my head. "So it is nice to score a goal to make sure your side is leading 1-0. It was a personal victory as well." Pablo Zabaleta - another rare goalscorer - doubled City's advantage on the quarter-hour mark with a shot that went in via Lars Jacobsen, before Demba Ba pulled one back for the visitors in the 33rd minute. City captain Vincent Kompany, whose embrace with Mario Balotelli before kick-off indicated there was no problem between the two players despite reports of a training-ground bust-up, was pleased De Jong and Zabaleta got on the scoresheet - even if it leaves him as one of only two outfield regulars at the club without a goal this season, alongside Jerome Boateng. "I was happy to see Nigel score because he really has been looking for that goal for such a long time," Kompany said. "I know he can score because I played with him at Hamburg and he did there. "I hope that will trigger his account now and who knows, maybe we will see five or 10 goals a season from Nigel! He can handle the pressure. "We joke about things like this but it's also a challenge. We joke about Zaba as well, and obviously he has also done it now. "I had better start working on it now - I can score as well, so it can't be that long any more before I get one." De Jong had to come off at half-time due to a hip complaint but is hopeful of being available again for next weekend's clash with Everton. "I took a knock earlier in the week on my hip and I was out of training for a couple of days," he said. "At the end of the first half I felt my hip again, so we will have to see. "I think I will have a scan on Tuesday and see the results, but I hope it is not too bad because every game now is a final for us and I don't want to miss any." City missed a series of chances to make it 3-1, but it eventually turned out that their early double was enough to secure a victory that keeps them firmly on course to win the race for the final Champions League berth. With four fixtures to go, Roberto Mancini's side are fourth in the Barclays Premier League, seven points clear of nearest rivals Liverpool - who have played a game more - in fifth and Tottenham in sixth. While the result brought City within touching distance of their Holy Grail, it was a fifth successive loss for rock-bottom West Ham, with the threat of relegation to the npower Championship moving closer. Their manager Avram Grant has set a target of at least seven points from their remaining three fixtures, and was encouraged by the performance of a Hammers side missing a host of key personnel. "We played without so many players," Grant said. "When we had a good run a few weeks ago, Gary O'Neil, Scott Parker, Mark Noble (all of whom are injured) and Wayne Bridge (who was ineligible to face his parent club) were a major part of this. "We played against City without them and we showed that the difference between us losing and taking a point was small, so we can take a lot of positive things for the next game."
