LONDON: Controversy over the application of goal-line technology erupted in the Premier League today when a shot ricocheted down from the bar, the referee waved play on but a subsequent simulation signalled ‘goal’.

The incident occurred after the opening 35 scoreless minutes of the Premier League match which saw Cardiff City beaten 2-0 at home by West Ham United.

Cardiff midfielder Kim Bo-Kyung saw his deflected shot loop up past West Ham keeper Adrian and ricochet down off the underside of the bar. Referee Lee Mason, not receiving any instant alert from the Goal Decision System awarded Hammers a free kick after forward Fraizer Campbell, following up, bundled Adrian and the ball into the back of the net.

Cardiff took the free kick but, as play continued so the GDS simulation signalled green for ‘Goal.’ The confusion, as clarified by Hawkeye officials later, stemmed from the technology signalling the ball over the line during Campbell’s foul.

Earlier the match had been held up for almost 10 minutes while West Ham defender Guy Demel received length treatment after a goalmouth collision. He was then carried off suffering from a suspected broken elbow and facial injuries.

West Ham celebrated their escape minutes later when Carlton Cole put them ahead in ghe 42nd minute. Hammers, who had conceded 11 goals in their previous two games, had to play out the closing stages with 10 men after defender James Tomkins was sent off for a second bookable offence but midfielder Mark Noble added a second in injury time.

The pressure eased on Sam Allardyce as West Ham climbed out of the bottom three by virtue of their win with the Bluebirds slipping below them to leave new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under instant pressure.

Manchester United halted their three-match losing run against Swansea as second-half goals from Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck eased the pressure on manager David Moyes.

At Old Trafford, where the Swans won for the first time in last weekend’s FA Cup tie, the Welsh side were unable to repeat their heroics as United rediscovered the form that earned them six straight wins before a poor start to 2014.

The tension created by a goalless opening 45 minutes, in which the brilliant Adnan Januzaj curled a free-kick against the bar and Welbeck missed a sitter, was broken straight after the break when Valencia rammed home from close range.

Welbeck’s sixth goal in nine games on the hour made the game safe, although an abysmal miss from Chris Smalling and a goal-line clearance from Leon Britton to deny Shinji Kagawa prevented United adding the extra gloss.

Adam Johnson fired Sunderland off the bottom of the table with a hat-trick to push Fulham back into relegation trouble.

The 26-year-old England international followed up impressive individual displays in the cup victories over Carlisle and Manchester United to play the key role in a precious 4-1 victory at Craven Cottage.

Johnson gave the visitors a 23rd-minute lead with a fine free-kick and then set up fellow midfielder Ki Sung-yueng to double his side’s advantage with a deflected 41st-minute shot.

Steve Sidwell headed Fulham back into it seven minutes after the restart but Johnson added a second with 21 minutes remaining and then converted and 85th-minute penalty to send the headed back to Wearside.

As a result, Crystal Palace slumped to the foot of the table after going down 2-0 at Tottenham on an afternoon when things might have turned out so differently.

Palace were presented with an opportunity to take the lead with just eight minutes gone after Mousa Dembele had fouled Marouane Chamakh, but Jason Puncheon skied his spot-kick to let Spurs off the hook.

Tim Sherwood’s men took advantage of their escape as Christian Eriksen and Toronto-bound substitute Jermain Defoe struck after the break to seal victory.

Everton maintained their challenge for European qualification by overcoming stubborn 2-0 at Goodison Park.

Gareth Barry opened the scoring with 23 minutes gone, before Kevin Mirallas wrapped up the points with a 59th-minute free-kick.

Adam Lallana’s lone strike was all Southampton needed to see off West Bromwich 1-0. The England international’s 66th-minute strike did the trick on a day when the Saints dominated possession but had to fight all the way.

Earlier Chelsea eased themselves back to the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Hull.

The game was scoreless at the break with Tigers goalkeeper Allan McGregor having produced a stunning save to deny Oscar the opening goal.

Opposite number Petr Cech too had to be at his best to keep out efforts from Ahmed Elmohamady and Jake Livermore as he recorded a 209th clean sheet in his 458th appearance for the club, in the process beating Peter Bonetti’s record that had stood since 1979.

A stunning 57th-minute Eden Hazard strike put the visitors ahead, and they cemented the win three minutes from time when Fernando Torres made sure of the points on his 200th Premier League appearance.

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