England forward Andy Carroll returned to goalscoring form with two thumping headers in West Ham United’s 3-1 victory over Swansea City, which lifted the London club into third place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Carroll, who had not scored a goal since March, headed his side level just before halftime after Wilfried Bony had put Swansea ahead against the run of play.
He struck again early in the second half before top scorer Diafra Sakho lashed home a third as West Ham, one of the season’s surprise packages, registered their third successive league victory.
Swansea had goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski sent off shortly after they fell behind for impeding Sakho.
West Ham have 27 points, one ahead of fourth-placed Southampton and two clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, who were to face each other yesterday.
Aston Villa also came back from a goal down to condemn bottom club Leicester City to their eighth defeat in 10 matches, with Alan Hutton scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory.
Villa are now unbeaten in five games.
Ciaran Clark equalized for the hosts after Leonardo Ulloa gave Leicester the lead with his first goal since September.
Carroll, who has endured serious foot and ankle injuries since joining West Ham in 2012, was too powerful for Swansea’s defense, especially in the air.
“It was a great feeling, it is fantastic to be back on the pitch and play as many games as I have in the last few weeks,” Carroll, who returned from his latest long-term injury last month, told the BBC.
“There is nothing better than scoring goals as a striker, so I was desperate to get a goal and it is great feeling,” he added.
West Ham dominated the opening exchanges with their newly adopted fluent, passing style, but only managed to draw one sharp stop from Fabinaski.
They were left to rue their failure to create the chances their possession warranted when Jefferson Montero’s smart cut back was steered in by Bony for his seventh goal of the season.
With halftime looming, Carroll restored parity when he met Carl Jenkinson’s deep cross with a thunderous far post header.
He then leapt highest to cannon Stuart Downing’s corner past Leon Britton’s attempted clearance.
Sakho sealed the win with an emphatic finish after twice hitting the post before finally adding a deserved goal.
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