Sunderland succumbed to defeat at West Ham today after they were made to pay for a scruffy first half.
Patrick van Aanholt made a meal of his clearance and gifted the ball to Michail Antonio, who scored a fantastic goal at the far post after the Black Cats were made to pay for a poor first half.
The home team were dominant in the first half but the tide changed after the break.
Jermain Defoe spurned a glorious chance to level the tie just moments into the second half, getting onto the wrong side of Collins. He had plenty of time to take the shot, but rushed it and put his strike a foot wide of the post.
Substitute Jack Rodwell led the Black Cats’ creativity after coming on in the 65th minute. He poked a shot straight at West Ham goalkeeper Adrían. The rebound came back to him and he slammed it into the top corner but handled the ball in the build up and it was ruled out.
Wahbi Khazri made a mess of his set pieces today, but did panic Adrían on two occasions. The Spaniard played keepy-uppy’s with a backpass and the Tunisian almost took the ball from his feet, whilst a free kick in the first half rattled the crossbar.
Vito Mannone made a stunning fingertip save in the first half to deny Mark Noble a superb strike, but his distribution was noticeably poor today.
The Black Cats remain one point from safety, second from bottom of the Barclays Premier League.
West Ham: Adrían, Byram, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyaté, Noble (c) (Obiang 82), Lanzini (Moses 65), Antonio, Emenike (Carroll 59), Payet
Substitutes: Randolph, Henry, Oxford, Song, Obiang, Moses, Carroll
Sunderland: Mannone, Yedlin, Koné, O’Shea (c), van Aanholt, Kirchhoff, N’Doye, Cattermole (Rodwell 65), M’Vila, Khazri, Defoe
Substitutes: Pickford, Jones, Kaboul, Larsson, Rodwell, Toivonen, Borini
Goals: Antonio (30)
