Sunderland Win To Ease Relegation Fears On Wearside The Black Cats seemed to be getting back on track with their 3-0 win over West Ham at the Stadium of Light. The win takes Sunderland 6 points clear of the relegation zone which makes our stunning Sunderland escorts very happy and will ease many fears on Wearside for the thousands of Sunderland supporters. Sebastian Larsson's 25-yard thunderbolt lit up a dour first half, before Adam Johnson pounced after a Dan Potts error to double the lead from close range. Jack Colback hit the woodwork as West Ham began to crumble, before James McClean finished from a tight angle. The visitors failed to threaten until the end, when Ricardo Vaz Te and James Tomkins were denied by Simon Mignolet. The 3-0 scoreline was no less than Sunderland deserved for taking full advantage of an abject display by the visitors Larsson's sublime opener was the only real moment of quality in the first half, but after the break the Black Cats tormented their opponents with some slick counter-attacking football. Sunderland now sit one point behind the Hammers as both sides' seasons take on a distinctly mid-table feel. On this evidence, Sam Allardyce's side should be the more concerned about the possibility of being dragged into a relegation battle, but they could do nothing about Larsson's spectacular 12th-minute strike. When Alou Diarra's headed clearance fell to the Swede, he took two touches before slamming a swerving left-footed drive past the helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen for his first goal of the season. Sunderland were content to keep 10 men behind the ball after taking the lead, and West Ham lacked the guile to break them down, with the absence of injured midfielder Mark Noble keenly felt. West Ham then contributed to their own downfall for the crucial second goal: a Premier League debut moment to forget for their 18-year-old defender Dan Potts. After Jaaskelainen did superbly to save McClean's strike, Potts dallied on the rebound and the ball fell for Johnson to finish clinically from five yards. The visitors were then lucky to not concede again when Colback smashed an effort against the woodwork following some sloppy defending. Sunderland Manager Martin O'Neill: "The win was important for us. I think anybody in the bottom half of the table still has to be looking anxiously over their shoulder". |
