Saturday 15 March 2014 21:04, UK
Fulham and West Bromwich Albion secured priceless first Premier League wins under their new managers as Aston Villa stunned leaders Chelsea.
Cardiff were denied a potentially important point at Goodison Park after Seamus Coleman's stoppage-time goal earned Everton a 2-1 win. Everton grabbed the lead just before the hour mark when they worked the ball down the left-hand side before Gerard Deulofeu cut inside and his low shot took a deflection in beating David Marshall at his near post. But Cardiff were level on 69 minutes when Peter Whittingham curled in a free-kick from the left and centre-half Juan Cala managed to help the ball over the line for his first goal for the club. With Cardiff looking set to hold out, Everton snatched the points when Coleman's mis-cued volley looped over the line to lift Roberto Martinez's side up to sixth. Sunderland remain in the bottom three after Gus Poyet's side were held to a 0-0 draw at home by fellow strugglers Crystal Palace. Fabio Borini came closest to scoring when the on-loan Sunderland striker's shot cracked against the bar, while Kagisho Dikgacoi missed a late chance for Palace. Southampton withstood a late rally from out-of-form Norwich to move up to eighth in the table on the back of a 4-2 triumph at St Mary's. Southampton were in front after just five minutes when Gaston Ramirez's pass played Morgan Schneiderlin in on goal and the midfielder clipped his finish past John Ruddy. Rickie Lambert made an immediate impact after being introduced as a substitute as he scored Southampton's second goal on 57 minutes, cleverly cutting inside a defender before placing his shot past Ruddy. Lambert turned provider for Saints' third goal on 72 minutes as he teed up Jay Rodriguez to finish after Guly do Prado's shot had been saved. Norwich pulled a goal back with five minutes to go when substitute Johan Elmander seized on a poor back-pass from Jose Fonte to finish past Artur Boruc. And just a minute later, Norwich had scored a second when Southampton again conceded possession cheaply as Robert Snodgrass tucked away the loose ball after Boruc had pushed out Rick van Wolfswinkel's shot. In added time, though, Southampton caught Norwich on the counter-attack and substitute Sam Gallagher notched his first Premier League goal after the visiting defence failed to prevent his shot from crossing the line. Stoke came from behind to maintain their impressive home record this season with a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the Britannia Stadium. West Ham edged ahead in the fifth minute when Mark Noble chipped a free-kick into the box and Andy Carroll beat Asmir Begovic to the ball to head into an unguarded net. Stoke levelled on 33 minutes when Peter Crouch's header from a corner came back off the crossbar and the giant striker acrobatically flicked a shot goalwards, with the ball deflecting in off team-mate Peter Odemwingie. Kevin Nolan had a goal disallowed for West Ham for offside before Stoke took the lead on 69 minutes when Marko Arnautovic enjoyed a lucky bobble of the ball following a neat build-up before rolling his shot past Adrian. The Potters wrapped up the points on 79 minutes thanks to a quick break as Stephen Ireland played in Odemwingie and the January signing's shot rocketed into the top corner.
