Sunderland (5-3-2): Mannone, Alonso, Bardsley, Brown, O'Shea, Bridcutt, Vergini, Cattermole, Ki, Borini, Wickham
West Ham (4-5-1) Adrian, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney, Diame, Downing, Nolan, Taylor, Noble, Carroll
Time for a new series! As I now (for the first time in my life) have access to Sky Sports on a regular basis, I have more football than I know what to do with. As a result, I have decided to look at the tactics during a match and see how it affected the game. I will start with the return of Monday Night Football, and the huge relegation battle between Sunderland and West Ham at the Stadium of Light, examining each of the half hour periods before determining who deserved to win the game.
If we look at the line-ups, we can see that neither side entered the game with a particularly positive attitude. This was certainly more of a must win game for the Black Cats, which is demonstrated by the use of wing-backs, making their 5 at the back a little deceptive. On the other hand, from their line-up West Ham seemed perfectly content to sit back and accept a point, despite the criticism from the fans for boring football. However, results not style keep you in the division, and whilst Sam Allardyce may not be producing attractive football, he is getting points. A win here would take the Hammers to 37 points, practically guaranteeing survival.
In the opening exchanges, it was clear that Sunderland's wing backs, particularly Phil Bardsley, were going to be a focal point for the Black Cats attacks. A couple of dangerous crosses, including one that whizzed across the face of goal, indicated Sunderland's intent and desire to win the game. However, West Ham's tactics, as they have been for the majority of the season, were not pretty, but they certainly were effective. By getting the ball up to their talismanic striker Andy Carroll to hold up, they found themselves gaining possession and creating opportunities. As expected, it was from set pieces where they were most dangerous, and after just 9 minutes, Carroll struck. Sunderland's marking couldn't make its mind up between being zonal or man to man, leaving the Hammers' striker to climb above John O'Shea and thump a header past Vito Mannone.
With Sunderland now in deep trouble, a response was required. It almost happened instantly. A fluid move left Lee Cattermole free in the penalty area to fire a shot at Adrian. Unfortunately, the midfielder had not scored in 112 attempts for Sunderland, and that record looked in no threat of ending as the Englishman tame shot was comfortably dealt with by the West Ham keeper. After this, the game began to settle down, with Sunderland monopolising possession, but West Ham remaining traditionally strong at the back. On the break, Stuart Downing remained a constant threat as the Sunderland wing-backs kept being caught out of position, but neither really threatened either goal.
First half hour: If there had been no score during the period, I would say Sunderland, but West Ham's admirable defence after taking the lead means that this has to be called level. Sunderland certainly didn't deserve to be behind, but they didn't do enough going forward to deserve the lead.
The second third continued with Sunderland pressure, but no real chances of note. That was until the 39th minute. Another set piece caused West Ham a few problems, and after a half clearance from Kevin Nolan, the ball seemed set to fall for John O'Shea to blast home. That was until the Hammers' midfielder decided to practically punch the ball away under the nose of Howard Webb. Amazingly, the referee failed to spot the infringement, allowing play to continue. A goal would certainly have changed the game, but it was not to be. Nevertheless, Sunderland could go off at the break a little frustrated by heartened at their fight and performance.
The second half began with a West Ham substitution, with new signing Pablo Armero brought on for George McCartney. A speed demon, Armero was introduced to inject some more pace and width down the left, as they were overly reliant on Downing in the first half. The Hammers' change paid instant dividends, but it was a similar tactic that dealt the killer blow. Another long ball into Andy Carroll saw the Englishman chest the ball into the path of Mohamed Diame, who fired past Mannone with the aid of a small deflection. At this point, with the Stadium of Light baying for blood, Gus Poyet made his first attacking change, bringing on the influential Adam Johnson for the combative Lee Cattermole.
However, once again the response was minimal, with Sunderland wasteful in possession. Particularly culpable was summer signing Santiago Vergini, who seemed to find more claret and blue shirts than red and white during the game. He has always been susceptible to a mistake or two, with high profile errors away at Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks, and I simply don't rate him. However, more excellent defensive work by West Ham as they approached the hour mark saw Sunderland make a second attacking change. Craig Gardner was brought into the action to replace John O'Shea, moving to a 4-4-2 formation with attacking wing-backs.
Second half hour: Unequivocally West Ham. A crucial second goal and excellent defensive work versus a toothless attack and shaky back line.
Just moments after West Ham looked to have the game sewn up, Adam Johnson broke through the rear guard and finished excellently. This swung the momentum for a few minutes, with Adrian forced into further good saves to deny Ki and Wickham in quick succession. After being rattled for a while, West Ham reformed their back line, fortunate not to have lost their lead. By taking the goalscorer Diame off for Roger Johnson, West Ham changed their formation to a 5-4-1, further shoring up their defence to protect the vital three points.
The final Sunderland change baffled me, with the influential Ki Sung Yeung removed in favour of striker Scocco. This seemed wrong for me, as a like for like swap with Connor Wickham would have meant that Sunderland's creative trio in Ki, Johnson and Borini all remained on the park, whilst retaining the finishing ability of Scocco. To cover off the extra striker, Sam Allardyce brought on a further defensive midfielder, Antonio Nocerino, in place of Kevin Nolan. This seemed to do the trick, as only a Scocco half chance threatened the Hammers' goal before the final whistle blew.
Third half hour: Sunderland's resilience means that they get this on points. However, Big Sam knew what he was doing and made sure that his side did not throw their hard work away.
The win for the Hammers was priceless, moving them to within touching distance of mathematical safety. Though they have gone down on 40 points before, I am confident that it will be nothing like that mark this year. As for Sunderland, safety looks a long a distant prospect, particularly with their next four fixtures being up against the top six. West Ham deservedly won this one, giving them momentum for their run-in.
Time for a new series! As I now (for the first time in my life) have access to Sky Sports on a regular basis, I have more football than I know what to do with. As a result, I have decided to look at the tactics during a match and see how it affected the game. I will start with the return of Monday Night Football, and the huge relegation battle between Sunderland and West Ham at the Stadium of Light, examining each of the half hour periods before determining who deserved to win the game.
If we look at the line-ups, we can see that neither side entered the game with a particularly positive attitude. This was certainly more of a must win game for the Black Cats, which is demonstrated by the use of wing-backs, making their 5 at the back a little deceptive. On the other hand, from their line-up West Ham seemed perfectly content to sit back and accept a point, despite the criticism from the fans for boring football. However, results not style keep you in the division, and whilst Sam Allardyce may not be producing attractive football, he is getting points. A win here would take the Hammers to 37 points, practically guaranteeing survival.
In the opening exchanges, it was clear that Sunderland's wing backs, particularly Phil Bardsley, were going to be a focal point for the Black Cats attacks. A couple of dangerous crosses, including one that whizzed across the face of goal, indicated Sunderland's intent and desire to win the game. However, West Ham's tactics, as they have been for the majority of the season, were not pretty, but they certainly were effective. By getting the ball up to their talismanic striker Andy Carroll to hold up, they found themselves gaining possession and creating opportunities. As expected, it was from set pieces where they were most dangerous, and after just 9 minutes, Carroll struck. Sunderland's marking couldn't make its mind up between being zonal or man to man, leaving the Hammers' striker to climb above John O'Shea and thump a header past Vito Mannone.
With Sunderland now in deep trouble, a response was required. It almost happened instantly. A fluid move left Lee Cattermole free in the penalty area to fire a shot at Adrian. Unfortunately, the midfielder had not scored in 112 attempts for Sunderland, and that record looked in no threat of ending as the Englishman tame shot was comfortably dealt with by the West Ham keeper. After this, the game began to settle down, with Sunderland monopolising possession, but West Ham remaining traditionally strong at the back. On the break, Stuart Downing remained a constant threat as the Sunderland wing-backs kept being caught out of position, but neither really threatened either goal.
First half hour: If there had been no score during the period, I would say Sunderland, but West Ham's admirable defence after taking the lead means that this has to be called level. Sunderland certainly didn't deserve to be behind, but they didn't do enough going forward to deserve the lead.
The second third continued with Sunderland pressure, but no real chances of note. That was until the 39th minute. Another set piece caused West Ham a few problems, and after a half clearance from Kevin Nolan, the ball seemed set to fall for John O'Shea to blast home. That was until the Hammers' midfielder decided to practically punch the ball away under the nose of Howard Webb. Amazingly, the referee failed to spot the infringement, allowing play to continue. A goal would certainly have changed the game, but it was not to be. Nevertheless, Sunderland could go off at the break a little frustrated by heartened at their fight and performance.
The second half began with a West Ham substitution, with new signing Pablo Armero brought on for George McCartney. A speed demon, Armero was introduced to inject some more pace and width down the left, as they were overly reliant on Downing in the first half. The Hammers' change paid instant dividends, but it was a similar tactic that dealt the killer blow. Another long ball into Andy Carroll saw the Englishman chest the ball into the path of Mohamed Diame, who fired past Mannone with the aid of a small deflection. At this point, with the Stadium of Light baying for blood, Gus Poyet made his first attacking change, bringing on the influential Adam Johnson for the combative Lee Cattermole.
However, once again the response was minimal, with Sunderland wasteful in possession. Particularly culpable was summer signing Santiago Vergini, who seemed to find more claret and blue shirts than red and white during the game. He has always been susceptible to a mistake or two, with high profile errors away at Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks, and I simply don't rate him. However, more excellent defensive work by West Ham as they approached the hour mark saw Sunderland make a second attacking change. Craig Gardner was brought into the action to replace John O'Shea, moving to a 4-4-2 formation with attacking wing-backs.
Second half hour: Unequivocally West Ham. A crucial second goal and excellent defensive work versus a toothless attack and shaky back line.
Just moments after West Ham looked to have the game sewn up, Adam Johnson broke through the rear guard and finished excellently. This swung the momentum for a few minutes, with Adrian forced into further good saves to deny Ki and Wickham in quick succession. After being rattled for a while, West Ham reformed their back line, fortunate not to have lost their lead. By taking the goalscorer Diame off for Roger Johnson, West Ham changed their formation to a 5-4-1, further shoring up their defence to protect the vital three points.
The final Sunderland change baffled me, with the influential Ki Sung Yeung removed in favour of striker Scocco. This seemed wrong for me, as a like for like swap with Connor Wickham would have meant that Sunderland's creative trio in Ki, Johnson and Borini all remained on the park, whilst retaining the finishing ability of Scocco. To cover off the extra striker, Sam Allardyce brought on a further defensive midfielder, Antonio Nocerino, in place of Kevin Nolan. This seemed to do the trick, as only a Scocco half chance threatened the Hammers' goal before the final whistle blew.
Third half hour: Sunderland's resilience means that they get this on points. However, Big Sam knew what he was doing and made sure that his side did not throw their hard work away.
The win for the Hammers was priceless, moving them to within touching distance of mathematical safety. Though they have gone down on 40 points before, I am confident that it will be nothing like that mark this year. As for Sunderland, safety looks a long a distant prospect, particularly with their next four fixtures being up against the top six. West Ham deservedly won this one, giving them momentum for their run-in.
