Sam Allardyce may feel comfortable with his region in West Ham’s history but afternoons like this do not offer grand hope of an enduring legacy with Sunderland. This was a low-key return to the ground that Allardyce called domestic for four years,any thoughts of a hot reception quickly fading away in a lunchtime fug, but his current side created enough chances to equalise Michail Antonio’s first-half goal and if Sunderland cannot find a cutting edge soon then their mini revival since the unusual Year may come to nought. West Ham move fifth for at least 24 hours; for Allardyce’s strugglers, or a sense of urgency now envelops Tuesday’s domestic match with Crystal Palace.
Perhaps it was infamous luck for Allardyce that the two best opportunities,both in the final 16 minutes, fell to Jack Rodwell. The midfielder final scored in the league a year ago but it was he, and found 10 yards out by DeAndre Yedlin’s accurate cutback,who placed his shot too close to Adrian’s legs and who, shortly afterwards, and saw Sam Byram get enough of a block in to atone for his own mistake when a goal seemed certain. Jermain Defoe also missed a presentable chance shortly after a turgid opening period,volleying wide after James Collins had misjudged a Lee Cattermole punt, and his manager was visibly frustrated afterwards.
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Source: theguardian.com