Sunderland suffer hammer blow against West Ham as dismal away form continues
The Black Cats were three goals down by half time, and despite pulling one back, never looked like finding a route back into the match.
For all of Sunderland’s positivity at the Stadium of Light this season, their record away from Wearside has actually left much to be desired. Ahead of their visit to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United, the Black Cats had only scored five goals on the road this season.
If this statistic was going to improve then West Ham were the exact side Sunderland would want to be facing, with the Irons having conceded more goals than any other team in the Premier League during this campaign.
Following Sunderland’s win against Crystal Palace last weekend, Régis Le Bris was cautious though. He made clear that every point picked up in the top flight is difficult and that West Ham would be no pushover.
By half time at the London Stadium, Le Bris was proven right. Three nil was the score at the interval, with Sunderland looking dumbstruck following 45 minutes where they had been bullied and bruised against a rejuvenated West Ham side.
Sunderland’s day had already begun in worrying fashion as it was confirmed that captain Granit Xhaka would not feature in the capital because of an ankle injury picked up in the win over Palace. Despite this, the Swiss midfielder travelled with his teammates to support them from the stands.
However, without Xhaka’s influence in the midfield, Sunderland were slightly lost. In fact the only contribution Xhaka made to proceedings was to argue with a West Ham supporter sat behind him during the latter stages of the match - not the influence he or Sunderland would have wanted.
With no Sunderland player taking the game by the scruff of the neck, Crysencio Summerville of West Ham did. His pace and movement was a constant thorn in Sunderland’s side, which they ultimately failed to deal with any real conviction.
It was Summerville who opened the scoring early on, heading past Robin Roefs from a deft cross courtesy of Jarrod Bowen. Soon it was two when Bowen converted a penalty despite almost losing his footing in the process of striking the ball.
West Ham’s third was the pick of the bunch. Mateus Fernandes picked up the ball outside of the area before unleashing an effort that Roefs could only palm into the net. For two clubs who have had such contrasting seasons, the score at the break certainly did not reflect that.
The Hammers’ influence wained slightly in the second half and for a ten minute period Sunderland had a modicum of control. Brian Brobbey scored his fifth of the season thanks to Nordi Mukiele picking out the Dutch forward unmarked in the box. On this occasion though, Brobbey scoring was not pivotal to the match, as his previous four goals had been.
The game finished 3-1, giving West Ham a real fighting chance in their battle to avoid the drop. For Sunderland, their swashbuckling season is slightly at risk of derailing if they do not improve on the road. Régis Le Bris’ side are in no danger of course, but talk of top ten finish will soon disappear if they are unable to start scoring and picking up points consistently away from Wearside.