Just short of 43,000 fans packed into The Stadium of Light, to see what could potentially be Advocaat’s last game in charge of The Black Cats. A very good first half saw Sunderland have a 2-0 lead, thanks to well-taken goals from both Fletcher and Lens. Borini should have extended Sunderland’s lead before Jenkinson got a goal back for West Ham before he interval.
Shortly after half-time, Lens needlessly hacked down Winston Reid and received a second yellow card. With Sunderland already struggling to hold their lead, Pantilimon flapped at a shot and gifted Payet with an easy tap in to gain West Ham a draw.
Here is how the Sunderland players rated at The Stadium of Light.
Costel Pantilimon – 4
A huge error cost Sunderland their lead when Lanzini shot from outside the box, and instead of pushing it over the bar, wide of the post or even catching it, Pantilimon flapped. The ball landed straight at the feet of Payet who had an easy chance to score. Pantilimon failed to catch anything all game and constantly looked under threat. A poor game for Sunderland’s stopper.
DeAndre Yedlin – 6
A solid first start for the Spurs loanee, but he seemed to disappear at times. Very good defensively when he was there, but he left Moses one-on-one with Cattermole, who has just been booked, for West Ham’s first goal. A good display but lack of positioning cost Sunderland in the first half.
John O’Shea – 7
A very good display from O’Shea as per usual. He and Coates seem to have found the partnership they had at the business end of last season, thankfully. O’Shea stopped a number of through ball and restricted West Ham to few good chances.
Sebastian Coates – 7
Very solid for Coates, just like O’Shea. The two together seem to be the pair that Sunderland need Coates stopped through balls and made some very good tackles. However, Coates will miss the West Brom trip through injury after hacking down Lanzini in order to get his 5th card of the season already.
Billy Jones – 8 (Man of the Match)
After playing in his favourable right-back position all season, Jones has been extremely poor. But having switched sides for this game, Jones was exceptional. Jones kept Victor Moses quiet all day, defended very well in general and was a big help going forward down the left flank. I don’t believe that Jones played better than other players, but given the poor quality of his performances this season, it was a huge step in the right direction for the defender. Hopefully, Jones has turned a corner.
Yann M’Vila – 8
As per usual, a very solid performance from the Frenchman. Very good on the ball, a wide range of passes and made some very key tackles. In addition to that, M’Vila finished the game with 2 assists, playing a very key role in both goals. Potentially the best player to play in a Sunderland shirt in quite a long time.
Lee Cattermole – 7
Cattermole does what Cattermole does. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But today, Cattermole broke down the play often in the first half and drove forward with the ball very well. However, in typical Cattermole fashion, he received a yellow card in the first half, so had to alter his play slightly in the second. Still a very good performance, but should have closed down Moses and not allowed him to put his cross in for their first goal.
Jeremain Lens – 5
An incredible goal, and a very good first half display. But two needless yellow cards meant Lens’ early bath cost Sunderland in the game. Sunderland were struggling at the time, and Lens hacked down Reid resulting in Sunderland playing the last half an hour with 10 men. Completely idiotic from Lens, which cost The Black Cats.
Ola Toivonen – 7
The Swede’s best performance in a Sunderland shirt by far. Broke down the play very well with some excellent tackles, and drove forward with the ball very well. However, it’s clear to see that Toivonen is still struggling with fitness, and he should have been taken off sooner as Toivonen was doing his best to keep on going but a fresh pair of legs would have helped.
Fabio Borini – 7
A very good performance from Borini. The Italian made some excellent runs through the defence, and his interlinking play with Fletcher and Lens was superb. But sadly for Borini and Sunderland, he should have put the game to bed in the first half. A flick from Fletcher meant the attacker was one-on-one with Adrian but put the ball wide.
Steven Fletcher – 7
Fletcher fought and fought all day for The Black Cats. He put himself about, went for every aerial challenge and won the majority. To top it off, Fletcher scored from a very well worked free-kick routine and put Sunderland in front in the game. The best performance we’ve seen from Fletcher in a long time.
Substitutions:
There is no point in rating the substitutes from today, as the earliest sub was made in the 83rd minute. It was clear to see that some of the starting XI were dead on their heals, but Advocaat seemed reluctant to make any changes earlier.
