document: Rooney hat-trick as United down West Ham LONDON : Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick as Manchester United fought back from two goals down to beat West Ham 4-2 and keep their Premier League title hopes firmly on track here Saturday . The victory saw United stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points ahead of Arsenal 's match against Blackburn in Saturday 's late kick-off . United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said his side had shown championship-winning pedigree by coming back to take all three points . West Ham had looked to be on course for a deserved victory after two early penalties from Mark Noble fired the Londoners into a 2-0 lead at Upton Park against a woeful United side . But Rooney spearheaded a dramatic United transformation in the second half , curling in a superb free-kick on 65 minutes to throw the leaders a lifeline before levelling with a rasping low shot eight minutes later . The comeback was complete on 78 minutes when fullback Fabio Da Silva charged down the right flank and whipped a ball back into the box . The Brazilian 's pull back grazed West Ham defender Matthew Upson on the arm and referee Lee Mason had no hesitation in pointing to the spot . Rooney duly stepped up to slam in the penalty before substitute Javier Hernandez completed the scoring with a close range effort on 84 minutes . Defeat was desperately hard on the Hammers , who had protested angrily after Mason failed to send off United captain Nemanja Vidic . The Serbian defender was lucky to stay on the pitch after hauling down Demba Ba shortly before half-time , receiving only a yellow card instead . A few minutes into the second half Vidic again breathed a sigh of relief after escaping a second yellow for a clumsy tackle from behind on Ba . The defeat halted West Ham 's recent revival and saw them slip into the relegation zone once again on goal difference .
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