After the euphoria of the previous week, almost defeating the champions at Old Trafford then beating Liverpool at home, the last seven days should really have been expected. Anything else just wouldn't be Sunderland. The visit of West Ham needed to be the game where we got back on track on our impressive start to the season. Going into this match, the Hammers were second bottom and enduring one of their worst starts to any Premier League campaign.

In the early stages, Sunderland looked the livelier of the two sides creating the best of the early chances. Steed Malbranque showed some nice skill to shake off a defender and win the games first free-kick after only two minutes. Darren Bent had his first of many chances after six minutes after Jones’ 25 yard shot bounced to Cana who pulled t he ball back to Bent, whose header went just wide. The home side continued to play the better football and have the better of the chances until the half hour mark when West Ham took the lead with a goal that looked about a year offside. Franco slid the ball past Gordon after Collinson’s neat work. The fifteen minutes that followed set the tone for the rest of the game, as the referee began to lose the game, and seemingly his head.

The away side doubled their lead four minutes later after some Da Silva lost possession in the midfield allowing West Ham to make the most of the stranded defence Collinson again knocked it on to Cole who took one touched and finished. Reid pulled one back in the fortieth minute, bending a lovely free kick into the top right corner. The first big incident of the game came right on the stroke of half time as Ilunga and Jones tangle on the right wing. In frustration Jones pushed Ilunga in the chest, receiving a straight red card.

The second half continued with ten men Sunderland creating the better chances, Malbranque in particular at the heart of most of the moves. Bent’s best chance to level the game came in the 52 minute as he showed some great skill to twists inside Tomkins. With time to compose himself, Bent thrashed the ball way over the bar. The chances continued to come for Sunderland, and it seemed like it wasn’t going to be our day when the opposition bar was struck twice within a minute.

Eventually, the equaliser came in the 76 th minute as Bent’s cross is deflected over Green and into the path of Kieran Richardson who bundled it in from close range. The action didn’t stop as in three minutes of normal time remaining; Kovac went in hard on Bent and received his marching orders for a second yellow card. Bent pulled a shot wide when the resulting free kick was punted forward. George McCartney hacked the ball off the line in a goalmouth scramble and Bent headed agonizingly wide in the dying stages. Full time, and a well deserved point. The main worry now is how we’ll cope at Spurs without Jones, Cana and Cattermole

Final Score: 2-2

ALS Man of the Match: Andy Reid

George Shaw

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