SPORTS SUNDAY, JANUARY 12, 2014 Johnson hat-trick fires Sunderland to victory Fulham 1 Sunderland 4 LONDON: Adam Johnson scored a hat-trick as Sunderland won 4-1 against Fulham at Craven Cottage in a key game at the bottom of the CARDIFF: West Ham United’s Mark Noble scores the second goal during their English Premier League table yesterday. Premier League match at Cardiff City Stadium. — AP Johnson opened the scoring with a sweet- ly-struck free-kick just before the half-hour Hammers sink Cardiff to mark and then set up Ki Sung-yeung to make it 2-0. Ki then returned the favour for Johnson to score again midway through the second half ease pressure on Allardyce after Fulham had reduced the deficit through Steve Sidwell, and he completed his hat-trick from the spot five minutes from time. Gunnar Solskjaer. Cardiff survived an early The result lifts Sunderland off the bottom of scare when West Ham hit the post inside the table and, while they remain in the relega- Cardiff 0 three minutes. Stewart Downing’s cross tion zone, they are now within two points of missed everyone and cannoned out of the the Cottagers, who are 16th. far post, where Tomkins’ follow-up was Gustavo Poyet’s side were fresh from a 2-1 smothered by David Marshall. But Allardyce win against Manchester United in midweek in West Ham 2 suffered a blow in the eighth minute when their League Cup semi-final first leg, but they Guy Demel went down. had only managed one win in nine league Fraizer Campbell had just failed to con- matches. nect with Peter Odemwingie’s cross and They also lost 1-0 to Fulham when the CARDIFF: West Ham eased the pressure on when the ball was quickly put back into the LONDON: Sunderland’s English-born Scottish striker Steven Fletcher (left) vies with Fulham’s teams met at the Stadium of Light on the English midfielder Steve Sidwell during the English Premier League football match. — AFP under-fire manager Sam Allardyce as they box the striker collided with Demel and opening day of the season but the London boosted their Premier League survival hopes Roger Johnson. club have been particularly suspect defensive- with a crucial 2-0 victory at Cardiff yesterday. Johnson’s elbow appeared to strike ly in recent weeks, conceding 16 goals in five Allardyce had endured a barrage of criti- Demel and the Ivorian required lengthy league matches coming into the weekend. Southampton edge Albion cism after the Hammers were routed 5-0 by treatment before being stretchered off with They went behind with 28 minutes played Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup last week- a suspected broken elbow and facial injuries. here. Referee Mike Dean awarded a free-kick end and then slumped to a humiliating 6-0 Cardiff looked the more likely to score and 25 yards out, and Johnson stepped up to curl a loss at Manchester City in the League Cup they thought they had in the 32nd minute. left-footed shot into the top-right corner of semi-final first leg in midweek, Kim Bo-kyung’s shot deflected off David Stockdale’s net. Southampton 1 But the West Ham supporters who were Johnson, struck the bar and appeared to The goalkeeper should perhaps have done calling for Allardyce to be sacked were cross the line as it came down. No goal was better, but Johnson was not complaining and silenced for one weekend at least as their 10- given and Campbell gave away a foul as he he was then the architect when the visitors man team ground out a much-needed win in bundled Adrian and the ball over the line. doubled their lead four minutes before the West Brom 0 south Wales. But replays showed the Goal Decision break. Carlton Cole gave them the lead just System had been correct, with the ball land- This time he played a short free-kick from before half-time and, although James ing on the line. the right low for Ki, whose first-time shot found SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton snapped a Tomkins was sent off in the second half, Mark West Ham took advantage of that escape the net through a crowd of players. run of four Premier League home games with- Noble sealed West Ham’s first win in seven to take the lead in the 42nd minute. Matt Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen would out victory as a strike from Adam Lallana matches in all competitions with a stoppage- Taylor picked out Jarvis, and the winger’s have had strong words for his players at the secured a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion time strike. It was the east Londoners’ first weighted pass gave Cole an easy tap in. interval and they got back into the game in the yesterday. league success since a win over Fulham on Cardiff dominated after that and it 52nd minute when Damien Duff’s corner from The Southampton captain struck in the November 30. seemed they would be rewarded when the right was headed home from inside the six- 66th minute at St Mary’s, converting a fine And with Andy Carroll making a first Tomkins saw red in the 70th minute as he yard box by an unchallenged Sidwell. pass from substitute Gaston Ramirez to give appearance of the season as a substitute picked up a second booking for a foul on That gave the hosts hope of taking some- Mauricio Pochettino’s side only a second win after a lengthy injury absence this was a Campbell after earlier being cautioned need- thing from the game, but Johnson and in 10 league games. The result galvanised lessly for dissent. good day for Allardyce with co-owners David Sunderland had other ideas. They restored Southampton’s hold on ninth place, giving Gold and David Sullivan in attendance. West But West Ham survived and Noble fin- their two-goal advantage in the 69th minute at them a seven-point lead over Hull City and Ham are now above third bottom Cardiff on ished a sweeping break from Carroll’s the end of a superb counter-attack, as Ki Aston Villa, while West Brom remained 14th. goal difference, making it a miserable home pass to secure the spoils in the final played a one-two with substitute Jozy Altidore debut for new Bluebirds manager Ole moments. — AFP West Brom’s new manager Pepe Mel was in and then slipped a terrific ball in behind the attendance, two days after his appointment as home defence for Johnson, who had raced up the successor to Steve Clarke, but caretaker the right wing and finished low past Stockdale. head coach Keith Downing took charge of the The former Manchester City winger was not team for the final time. Downing made seven finished there though. When Altidore was changes to the side beaten by Crystal Palace in brought down inside the box by Philippe the FA Cup last weekend, while Artur Boruc Senderos with five minutes to go, Johnson returned in goal for the home side after six stepped up to slot home the resulting penalty weeks out with a fractured hand. and seal a convincing win for the visitors. Southampton struggled to convert their Fulham have now conceded four goals or first-half dominance into chances, with Lallana more in four of their last six games, and a disappointing day for them was summed up thwarted by visiting goalkeeper Ben Foster when Vito Mannone somehow denied and Rickie Lambert shooting narrowly wide. Sidwell from point-blank range right at the Jay Rodriguez slotted wide after catching death. — AFP out Youssouf Mulumbu early in the second period, but it took the introduction of Ramirez in the 62nd minute to tip the game in the Matches on TV hosts’ favor. (Local Timings) After testing Foster with a free-kick, the Uruguayan playmaker freed Lallana with a clever first-time pass from wide on the right English Premier League and the England international gathered the ball before drilling home a low shot. Downing Newcastle v Man City 17:05 sent on Saido Berahino, Zoltan Gera and Matej SOUTHAMPTON: West Bromwich Albion’s English goal- beIN SPORTS 1 Vydra as West Brom pushed forward, but beIN SPORTS 1 HD keeper Ben Foster (left) vies with Southampton’s Boruc produced a sensational reflex stop to Northern Irish midfielder Steven Davis (right) in the Stoke City v Liverpool 19:10 deny Shane Long a stoppage-time equaliser beIN SPORTS 1 dying seconds of the English Premier League football from Liam Ridgewell’s low cross. — AFP beIN SPORTS 1 HD match. — AFP LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Jermain Defoe (center) prepares to shoot to score their second goal as Crystal Palace’s English defender Joel Ward gets Italian Calcio League his foot to the ball during the English Premier League football match. — AFP Torino FC v Fiorentina 14:30 Motherwell EPL results/standings beIN SPORTS 3 beIN SPORTS 3 HD break Hearts Cardiff 0 West Ham 2 (C.Cole 42, Noble 90); Everton 2 Defoe on target as Atalanta BC v Calcio Catania 17:00 (Barry 23, Mirallas 59) Norwich 0; Fulham 1 (Sidwell 52) beIN SPORTS 2 GLASGOW: Motherwell continue to fly beIN SPORTS 2 HD high in the Scottish Premiership after Sunderland 4 (Johnson 29, 69, 85-pen, Ki 41); Hull 0 Spurs defeat Palace Cagliari Calcio v Juventus FC 17:00 defeating bottom side Hearts to make it Chelsea 2 (Hazard 56, Torres 87); Manchester United 2 beIN SPORTS 3 (Valencia 47, Welbeck 59) Swansea 0; Southampton 1 ond attempt, before Puncheon fluffed his lines beIN SPORTS 3 six wins on the bounce yesterday.