A Review of Sunderland Vs West Ham From a Black Cats Perspective

Article by Ben Mummery

On Saturday 14th, The Boleyn ground played host to a fixture between two top flight sides in desperate need of points, one more so than the other. Sunderland travelled to West Ham United having picked up only 2 points away from home this season, a 1-1 draw away to Southampton, and a 0-0 at Villa Park.

Planted firmly at the bottom of the table with only 8 points, Sunderland would have been hoping to take advantage of Sam Allardyce’s men who were without star striker Andy Caroll and talisman Kevin Nolan, and in the early exchanges, looked to have the answers to West Ham’s packed midfield.
USA international striker Jozy Altidor had a change through on goal saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen in the opening minutes, but there were end to end opportunities for both sides. It was Sunderland however that looked to have the upper hand in the first half, with a superb long range shot from left back Phil Bardsley striking the bar, Italian forward Fabio Borini’s effort on goal, and Jaaskelainen being called into action again to deny Ki and Lee Cattermole in the dying moments of the half.

The Second half saw fewer chances in front of goal for both teams, Ki again came close with a left foot attempt from close range, and former black cat George McCartney’s cross having to be tipped over by Minone, however with a total game possession of 59%, Sunderland enjoyed the lion’s share of time with the ball.

Since taking over as manager, Gus Poyet has made no secret of his desire to play passing, possession football, and there have been glimpses of this in his side’s last few outings, playing well against a superb Chelsea side, an unfortunate display against Spurs, at times passing Villa off the park, and showing signs of being able to play with a fluid, fast-paced approach, however the away fixture at Upton park was the best example of Sunderland’s new philosophy to date.

West Ham at times simply could not take the ball from Sunderland, who looked comfortable in possession, and were happy to use the width of the pitch to frustrate their opponents. Playing with two holding midfielders in Ki and Cattermole, they protected their back 4 well, and limited the hammers to very few chances throughout, however the glaring fact remains, that for all the possession, and not without a reasonable amount of forward momentum either, Sunderland again, did not score.

This is a real problem for the black cats, it’s all well and good being able to play the beautiful passing game, but the end result must be the ball nestled in the back of the net! The way in which Poyet has his side play is a great way to approach games, and few could deny that Sunderland are without doubt playing a better brand of football under him, however Sunderland for all the positives, are still bottom of the table, and a lack of goals is becoming the main concern for fans. This must be addressed in January, huge changes were rang at the stadium of light in the summer, with Paolo Di Canio and director of football bringing in what was, in most fan’s opinions, too many new faces. The general feeling as we approach the mid term window, is that Sunderland need to drop some dead weight from the squad, and add one or two more players of real attacking quality if they are to remain in the top flight.

WEST HAM: Jaaskelainen, Demel (O'Brien 58), Collins, Tomkins, McCartney, J Cole (C Cole 76), Morrison, Noble, Diame, Jarvis (Collison 56), Maiga. Subs not used: Adrian, Rat, Taylor, Diarra

BOOKED: Noble

SUNDERLAND: Mannone, Celustka, O'Shea, Brown, Bardsley (Dossena 82), Giaccherini, Larsson, Cattermole, Ki, Borini (Johnson 73), Altidore (Fletcher 73). Subs not used: Pickford, Cabral, Gardner, Roberge

REFEREE: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)

ATTENDANCE: 31,843

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