Referee David Elleray called off West Ham's Premiership clash with Crystal Palace at Upton Park last night after the floodlights failed in the 65th minute. Electricians spent 30 minutes trying to repair the fault, but then the game was abandoned with the scores level.

West Ham had fought back with goals by John Hartson (52 minutes) and Frank Lampard (65) after Neil Shipperley had struck twice before the break on 19 and 45 minutes.

It was the second time this season that there was a floodlight failure at a Premiership match. The first time was Derby's first game at their new Pride Park Stadium when their match against Wimbledon on August 13th was called off after 56 minutes with the home side leading 2-1.