FULL-TIME! West Ham 1-0 Sunderland
Sakho’s late goal gives West Ham a welcome three points and deepens Sunderland’s woes. It was garbage for much of the game but the hosts just about edged it and therefore deserved the points.
90 min +3: Collins heads a hopelessly hopeful long ball clear. It comes back in, Wickham’s touch is too heavy and West Ham clear it as far as Pantilimon.
90 min + 1: Sakho is off to a standing ovation. Joey O’Brien on for the final 90 seconds.
90 min: Three minutes added on and you cannot see Sunderland fashioning much of a comeback.
89 min: The ball falls to Sakho about eight yards out via a typically scrappy piece of play on the edge of the area ends with Noble poking the ball in his direction and Sakho shoots across Vergini and Pantilimon, into the bottom left corner. That’s his 12th of the season (what a bargain he was at £3m!). Dick Advocaat paints a disconsolate figure on the sideline.
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GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Sunderland (Sakho)
88 min: At last!
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88 min: Defoe off, Danny Graham on. That’s Sunderland’s final change.
87 min: And then Noble sends a cross in from the right. But there’s nobody on hand to attack it and Pantilimon takes it easily.
86 min: Noble eyes up a shot but it’s blocked.
84 min: Another West Ham penalty appeal. This time the ball appears to hit Johnson on the hand. Again Lee Mason waves play on.
83 min: Larsson’s delivery is cleared by … Collins. It ain’t been pretty fare but the centre-half has been terrific for West Ham.
83 min: Van Aanholt crosses past Jenkinson. Collins puts it out for a corner.
81 min: Another long ball from Sunderland towards Defoe. He turns Kouyate but Collins is there as additional cover and makes a tasty challenge to half the journeyman striker.
80 min: Nene on for Nolan and his first act is to shoot on the edge of the area. It’s blocked.
79 min: West Ham putting the squeeze on. Downing puts a lovely ball in towards Sakho but he is thwarted by O’Shea.
78 min: Gomez puts a cross in which Collins half-clears. Then Wickham comes in at pace and Collins put his body on the line to get in the way. Brave and worthwhile from the defender’s point of view.
76 min: A chance! Van Aanholt, perhaps Sunderland’s best player so far, has a pop from range. Adrian gets across to make a very good save.
75 mins: Welcome rugby fans, I’d love to say you’ve been missing a classic but not quite. It has been awful.
74 min: Johnson is on to a very mixed reception. Fletcher is off.
73 min: Noble puts a cross in but it’s a little over Sakho’s reach.
72 min: Adam Johnson is coming on in the next minute or so. Sunderland fans are singing “One Adam Johnson”, the West Ham fans are singing something that won’t be mentioned here.
70 min: Downing lays-off to Nolan but his low drive is blocked.
67 min: Song brings down Wickham near halfway. Free-kick, which Larsson is about to take. And subsequently hit a hopeless ball which is cut out. If anybody has some quality, could they bring it to Upton Park please? And quick!
65 min: Another Collins free-kick, from the same area is piled forward. Softer penalty shouts after O’Shea drags Sakho. Play continues. Sunderland can’t get out of their half but Cresswell delivers a cross from the left which is so bad that it runs all the way across the pitch and out for a throw-in.
64 min: Wickham booked for a foul near halfway. Collins lumps it forward. There’s plenty of puling and dragging. West Ham want a penalty as Vergini drags Nolan to the floor … the linesman’s flag is up but for offside as Nolan was off when Collins took the free-kick.
62 min: Rodwell, 30 yards out, sends the ball into the away end with a shot. Awful.
60 min: Decent spell from West Ham but they cannot penetrate Sunderland, who presently have eight players camped in their own box. The other three are near halfway.
54 min: Van Aanholt loses Song on the left but his cross under little pressure is poor and Collins heads it away. He’s done the hard bit pretty well, but that delivery could only have been worse if he sliced it out of play.
52 min: A chance! Sakho, West Ham’s go to man for goals this season, heads wide after evading O’Shea’s challenge.
51 min: While we’re absorbing watching this encounter – the rugby is 48-35. The equivalent of 5-3 in football? Or maybe even 6-4?
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50 min: Gomez goes in hard on Kouyate. An old school challenge, you could say. Sensibly, Lee Mason gives the foul but nothing more.
48 min: Nolan has a half-chance. Pantilimon spills it but smothers on the second attempt.
46 min: Wickham cuts in rom the left and, on his right, smashes way over from 25 yards.
Peep!
Sunderland restart.
Which means they’ll be even more direct.
Carlton Cole is on for West Ham, replacing Jarvis.
HALF-TIME: West Ham 0-0 Sunderland
That’s your lot for this half. There were very brief spells of excitement – Defoe shooting over early on and Song’s volley saved by Pantilimon – but apart from that it has been dull. Back in a bit.
45 min +1: We should be thankful for that.
45 min: There will be two minutes added on.
42 min: Jenkinson wins a corner off Van Aanholt, who is screaming at his team-mates for more support having been faced with two West Ham players – the other being Nolan. Downing’s delivery from the corner is put out for another one, which Jarvis takes on the opposite side. That delivery is a good one but Kouyate can only direct his header wide under pressure from Rodwell.
38 min: West Ham currently bossing possession but can’t find that killer final ball. Meanwhile, yet another long punt towards Defoe from Gomez bothers Collins but the threat is muted after the ball bounces and holds up in the air a little.
34 min: Jarvis puts in another threatening cross. Nolan, claiming he was held by Larsson, slides towards the ball and goal and collides with Pantilimon, who wins a free-kick despite the West Ham attacker’s claims for a penalty. Those claims are justified after seeing a replay – Larsson is very lucky not to concede a penalty for a blatant drag on Nolan’s shirt.
32 min: Song volleys with his right from 25 yards. It takes on bounce but Pantilimon dives and saves. Noble then fires a cross in from the left it’s headed clear and Fletcher breaks. He finds Defoe, who shoots low but straight to Adrian.
30 min: Wickham and Defoe link up well but the former runs into trouble by the name of Jenkinson and West Ham have a goal-kick.
27 min: Is everybody else watching the rugby?
25 min: Downing curls in a teasing cross. Sakho challenges but Pantilimon is out to punch and wins a free-kick from it.
23 min: Another long ball forward from Sunderland sees Kouyate troubled by Defoe again. That’s two big ones which have bothered the West Ham player. Sunderland may have stumbled upon a weakness to target.
20 min: Cresswell wins a corner via Gomez. Pantilimon nervously punches an improved delivery, this time from Jarvis, clear.
18 min: And now Sakho heads wide after leaping above O’Shea following Cresswell’s cross from the left. Decent fare, so far, certainly better than last season’s fixture.
17 min: Terrific work from Sakho – penned into the right corner, he turns Van Aanholt – sets up Nolan whose attempt is saved by Pantilimon.
16 min: Sakho wins a corner for West Ham off O’Shea’s right shin but the delivery is dreadful from the usually reliable Noble and Fletcher, the first man, clears.
15 min: Oh, Jermain! Such wasteful finishing. Pantilimon’s kick-out is headed backwards by Kouyaté and with the West Ham defence pushed up, Defoe nips in. He is through and into a good position but with only Adrian to beat he shoots over. Poor.
14 min: West Ham work it across the middle of the park. it eventually reaches Jenkinson but his touch is heavy and Van Aanholt gets between man and ball and shields well to win a goal-kick.
12 min: Still hobbling. But now to boos from the home support. Vergini finally comes on in the centre-half’s place.
10 min: Brown is down with an injury now. Replays show Sakho standing accidentally on his foot as they leapt for that ball forward. The defender appears to be struggling and is hobbling gingerly towards the sideline.
9 min: Collins pumps a free-kick in his own half into the Sunderland box but Wes Brown is up and attempts to clear. The ball comes off his head alright, but it goes in the opposite direction and Pantilimon saves.
7 min: Good chance for Sunderland. A long ball from Gomez sees Defoe get behind Collins. The former Hammer cross to Connor Wickham, who chests before producing a stinging volley. Adrian makes a solid save.
6 min: Adam Johnson is on the bench for Sunderland today despite a continuing police investigation. The travelling support are signing ‘one Adam Johnson’, which is incorrect. They must not be aware of the Pulitzer-winning writer.
4 min: Wickham’s long throw is cleared to where it came from. Instead of trying it a second time it’s taken short. Reveillere crosses, allowing West Ham to break on the right.
3 min: The first corner is Sunderland’s. Fletcher tries to cut the ball across goal to Defoe but Cresswell nips in to rid of the danger. O’Shea and Brown come up for it but Song clears it out for a throw-in.
2 min: Decent start from West Ham. A couple of early crosses from Downing and Cresswell are cleared by Sunderland’s old, creaking defence.
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1 min: Collins overhits a pass and Pantilimon comes out to catch. Bread and butter.
Peep!
We are underway! West Ham get us going, playing from right to left as we view it in their usual home strip, Sunderland are in light blue.
Here come the teams!
The teams!
West Ham: Adrian, Jenkinson, Kouyate, Collins, Cresswell, Song, Noble, Jarvis, Nolan, Downing, Sakho. Subs: Nene, O’Brien, Demel, Amalfitano, Jaaskelainen, Poyet, Cole.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Reveillere, O’Shea, Brown, Van Aanholt, Larsson, Rodwell, Gomez, Fletcher, Defoe, Wickham. Subs: Jones, Bridcutt, Johnson, Graham, Mannone, Vergini, Watmore.
Referee: Mr Lee Mason.
Preamble
Dick Advocaat has never been relegated. Sunderland are his 12th club and the Little General sure does not want the ignominy of dropping out of the Premier League. But they are teetering only one point above safety before today’s trip to the Boleyn Ground.
“I’ve never been relegated,” Advocaat said yesterday. “I always have the feeling I can never go down. If you see what I have done in the past, I’ve been quite successful. We have to play as a unit with the ball and without it. If we start playing again as a team, with everyone fighting for each other, then I’m not afraid of the results. We have enough quality. The good thing is that I can see the players want to prove themselves to the new manager – that’s always a good sign.”
Things cannot get any worse than last weekend’s shambolic capitulation against Aston Villa at home. If ever a sacking was justified, it was that of Gus Poyet after such an embarrassment. It would also be fair to assume a trip to a team with little to play for and in poor form seems like an ideal place to start life for Advocaat.
West Ham, meanwhile, are looking to cling on to a top half finish. Hampered by injuries to a couple of key players, they have dropped off the pace a little in recent weeks. It’s all quite underwhelming in a campaign that started with so much promise. Still, they look like the narrowest of favourites to get a second win in 12 here.
It’s Big Sam v Little Dick. Kick-off is 5.30pm in east London. Let’s go!
