Carroll Inspires Narrow West Ham Victory

Sunderland's winless run extended to six games in the Premier League this evening as they lost 2-1 to a dogged West Ham United. 

The hammers scored early in both halves through Andy Carroll and Mohamed Diame before a superb consolation from substitute Adam Johnson.

The game started slowly with Sunderland predominantly on top before Andy Carroll scored the game's opening goal, the big striker capitalizing on an excellent delivery from a Mark Noble corner to aim a powerful header at goal from close-range. Mannone got a hand to it but the power of the ex-Newcastle man's header proved too much.

Lee Cattermole had a chance to equalise just moments later, finding plenty of space at the far post after a cross from Ki but firing a tame left-footed shot towards the feet of Adrian. Sunderland should certainly have had a penalty towards the end of the first half as Kevin Nolan clearly connected with the ball using his elbow, however referee Howard Webb missed the incident.

The Black Cats emerged after the break exactly as they had ended it, on the attack. An early Borini cross flashed across the face of goal with no one at the far post to tap in.

Against the run of play West Ham managed to double their advantage, a long ball pumped forward towards Andy Carroll who turned from goalscorer to provider. The ball fell into the path of Diame whose first time shot took a deflection as it rolled into the bottom corner.

Once again Sunderland quickly retaliated, a cross-field ball miss-controlled by Phil Bardsley as he ran through on goal. Moments later a first time volley from around 20 yards out flew narrowly wide of the far post. A mix up between Adrian and Carroll from a corner nearly resulted in a comedy own-goal but the Spaniard was quick to jump on the loose ball.

Sunderland's relentless pressure continued as Fabio Borini slammed a left-footed drive into the side-netting.
Stewart Downing could have put the game beyond reach just before the hour mark as he had a one-on-one fantastically saved low to Vito Mannone's right hand side.

Eventually Sunderland's pressing play paid off as just after the hour mark Adam Johnson scored a marvellous curling effort from the edge of the box, placing the ball far out of Adrian's reach to claw back one goal. Suddenly Sunderland were in full flow, a testing drive from  Ki not held by Adrian who just managed to recover to make a superb second save from Connor Wickham.

West Ham dropped deeper and deeper as the game approached the closing minutes, Matty Taylor forced to concede a corner following a dangerous floating ball from Adam Johnson. Johnson then found Marcos Alonso from the resulting corner, the wing-ball drilling his shot over the bar.

Mannone found himself spending more of stoppage time in the West Ham penalty area than his own as Sunderland had a host of corners deep into the game. Adam Johnson had one final chance in the dying seconds, however the West Ham defensive line held firm as they recorded their second consecutive victory after the weekends 2-1 victory against Hull.

Victory for Sam Allardyce's men sees them remain in 11th as they move onto 37 points, eleven points above the relegation zone and all-but safe with six games remaining. Defeat for the Black Cats leaves Gus Poyet's team four points adrift of safety and staring at Championship football next season.

Premier League Preview: West Ham

Last, but certainly not least, comes West Ham. After a strong first season back in the Premier League, Sam Allardyce will be looking to press on and push for a top half finish. Last season Allardyce confounded the critics by performing well and will be looking to build on that this year.

The squad has been strengthened over the summer with the permanent signing of Andy Carroll as well as his Liverpool compatriot Stewart Downing. As well as these two, West Ham also signed Razvan Rat as a bolster in defence. They sold very few players so their has hardly been a dent in the squad and Allardyce will be looking to kick-start the season well. A lot will be reliant on the performance of Andy Carroll up front but with support from the wings as well as Nolan he will certainly get plenty of chances.

West Ham have had a hugely successful pre-season, winning every game but two. I fear for West Ham should they suffer an injury to key men such as Andy Carroll or any of the defence. Their squad has quality but perhaps lacks a bit of depth, but with the right signings before the end of the season, they will definitely be pushing for the top half.

Key Man: Andy Carroll - Plenty of players are vital for West Ham but the team really is built around Carroll. He has had a rough couple of seasons in and out of different teams but finally looks like he could be settled at West Ham. If he can remain injury free his powerful presence up front will create havoc in opposition defences.

One to Watch: Ravel Morrison - A difficult character but an undoubted talent, Morrison spent last season on loan at Birmingham. After being dismissed from Manchester United for his attitude and it also being questioned by Lee Clark at Birmingham, Allardyce will no doubt need to whip him into shape. However, with the right treatment, Morrison could easily be one of the most influential players in the side.

Best Summer Signing: Stewart Downing - Downing has been the butt of plenty of football related jokes over the last few years, however he actually had a much better season last year than the year before. I would consider £5 million for Downing an absolute coup, especially considering the style of football West Ham play. With the target man up front, Downing's crossing ability will be vital to the team.

Last Season: 10th

Pre-Season Prediction: 9th - I believe West Ham will make it into the single figure positions this year, but only just.