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 the club`s official website.
"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."
Source: PA
Source: PA