At Upton Park, Andy Carroll squandered a glorious chance to decorate his Upton Park return with a crucial goal as Newcastle ended their three-match losing run with a 3-1 win.

Carroll, back from a long-term foot injury, made his second appearance of the season as a 62nd-minute substitute and was guilty of an awful miss. With West Ham trailing 2-1 and the match finely poised, the England striker had the goal at his mercy after being teed up by Stewart Downing only to loft his attempt high over the crossbar.

Strikes from Yohan Cabaye and Loic Remy put impressive Newcastle in a commanding position, but Mike Williamson's own goal in first-half injury time set up a more competitive second half.

West Ham, buoyed by the arrival of Ravel Morrison, displayed greater fight and Carlton Cole should have scored the equaliser but also butchered the simplest of chances.

Newcastle added their third four minutes into injury time when Cabaye curled a free-kick around the wall, off the left post and into the net. The result means West Ham slip back into the relegation zone while Newcastle have concluded their four-match losing run in all competitions.

At Selhurst Park, Tony Pulis will likely have allowed himself a wry smile as Crystal Palace beat former club Stoke 1-0. Pulis, who left Stoke last May before taking up the reins at Palace in November, saw Jason Puncheon strike the 51st-minute goal that has lifted his side off the foot of the table.

And Norwich defender Ryan Bennett scored his first goal for nine months as the Canaries defeated Hull 1-0 at Carrow Road. Despite club-record signing Nikica Jelavic in the Hull side, it was Bennett who broke the stalemate in the 87th minute with a fine header to a cross from Robert Snodgrass.

Further misery followed for the visitors when Tom Huddlestone was dismissed two minutes later for his second bookable offence.