West Ham United ended a disappointing run of form by claiming a vital 2-0 win from their trip to Wales to face Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.

Carlton Cole opened the scoring for the Hammers from close range just before the break, but Sam Allardyce's team were dealt a blow in the second half when James Tomkins was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

However, the visitors survived an extended spell of pressure from Cardiff and Mark Noble confirmed the victory in stoppage time by finishing off a counter-attack.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at the key talking points from the match.

Match statistics

Cardiff
Shots: 19
On target: 7
Possession: 63%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 7

West Ham
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 37%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 16

Was the result fair?

One look at the statistics tells you how unlucky Cardiff were to end the afternoon without anything to show from the match. The hosts dominated for long spells of the game, but they couldn't find the crucial breakthrough after being gifted the numerical advantage when James Tomkins was dismissed.

Cardiff's performance

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will be disappointed with how his team started his first league game in charge, with Cardiff failing to play with the same kind of intensity they usually do in front of their own supporters. The hosts certainly improved after the break, but they struggled to create clear opportunities after falling behind, despite dominating possession.

West Ham's performance

Allardyce will be calling it a classic away performance but after a miserable week, the West Ham manager would have taken anything this afternoon. The Hammers can still improve but they showed the kind of fighting spirit that has been missing in recent weeks. Every single player battled impressively when Cardiff were applying the pressure and the visiting supporters will be proud of their team.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Mark Noble: Easiest decision for a long time. Noble was superb throughout the match and led by example when the Hammers were reduced to 10 men. The midfielder was a constant nuisance to Cardiff's creative players, but it will be his calm finish in the closing stages that most West Ham supporters will remember.

Biggest gaffe

Mark Hudson had a great opportunity to level the score just after the break when he was gifted space inside the box but he failed to test Adrian with his header. The defender may lose some sleep thinking about that miss tonight.

Referee performance

Lee Mason was given no choice by James Tomkins when he dished out a second yellow card to the defender, but his refusal to award a penalty when Fraizer Campbell went down inside the box under a challenge from a visiting defender may be talked about by the Cardiff fans this evening.

What next?

Cardiff: Solskjaer faces a tough trip to face Manchester City next Saturday when his team return to action.

West Ham: The Hammers welcome Newcastle United to Upton Park in a week as they look to build on this result.