English Premier League – Full time review: Sunderland versus West Ham United (Part 1)
The match kicked off with Sunderland on the front foot as Wellbeck, the Manchester United winger who is on loan at Sunderland played it to Bent tried a one-two with him but the play died out as Mathew Upson intercepted the pass and cleared
the ball away. In the 7th minute of the match, much to the delight of away fans, Kieran Richardson and Boa Morte went into a tackling mode but the former came off as worse. However, the referee deemed Boa Morte was the aggressor and promptly showed
him a yellow card.
In the 21st minute of the match, Hammers put together a nice passing interchange in front of the Sunderland goal. In the end, Victor Obinna tried his luck on Gordon’s goal but the Sunderland goalie was equal to the task as he
held onto the shot. West Ham were on the back foot for most part of the first half as Sunderland kept possession of the ball more often. When the Black Cats had control of the ball they utilized it well as they tried to pry open the West Ham defence by using
wide players in shape of Wellbeck and Richardson.
Not only that but their crosses were well executed too, however West Ham’s defending in numbers kept their net dry from balls. Sunderland soon took the lead as West Ham tried to push up the field so that they can catch Gyan in an offside
position. However, Tomkins was at fault yet again as this time he was the one who played Gyan onside. The Ghanaian collected the ball and then played it to Henderson who made a late run into the West Ham penalty area. The Englishman rounded the move off with
a fine finish in the 34th minute as Sunderland took a one goal lead.
The former Manchester United man sprung off Henderson in the midfield area and then went past Ferdinand but just couldn’t apply the finishing touch that was needed to get the equalizer. Nonetheless, the first half came to an emphatic end
with Sunderland in front with just a single goal scored by Jordan Henderson.
In the 47th minute of the match, after the second half kicked off, Gabbidon surged forward from his left back position for West Ham United but his cross inside the Sunderland penalty area was a weak one as Craig
Gordon came out and collected the ball much to the relief of his defence as Carlton Cole was waiting for the Scottish goalie to make an error.
In the 48th minute, Carlton Cole was in action for the Hammers as Obinna played in Cole inside the Sunderland penalty area. The striker held off Anton Ferdinand and tried to produce a finish to place the ball inside
the far left corner of the goal but his shot was off the mark.
Following West Ham’s effort on goal through Cole, the Hammers gained confidence and tried to play football with possession but Sunderland made this difficult for them as the likes of Henderson and Gyan pushed forward to pressurize the
West Ham midfield. In the 50th minute, Spector tried to play in Cole yet again but this time Ferdinand was alert as he intercepted the pass as Sunderland went on built an attack of their own.
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