West Ham 3-1 Sunderland: First-half masterclass earns huge win for Hammers

West Ham earned a huge win in their bid for Premier League survival as three first-half goals saw them beat Sunderland 3-1 at the London Stadium.

Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen were on target before Matheus Fernandes scored a stunner before half-time to Nuno Espirito Santo’s men firmly in the driving seat.

Brian Brobbey pulled one back for the Black Cats but it was not enough to half a huge victory for the Hammers, which takes them within two points of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest for at least a day.

West Ham blow Black Cats away in first half

Noah Sadiki had the first effort on goal just two minutes in with a well-struck effort on the edge of the box which Alphonse Areola had to tip over the bar.

But the Hammers recovered from a nervous start and got themselves in front when Summerville leapt brilliantly to head home Bowen’s teasing cross to spark life into West Ham’s survival bid.

They could have been two up just moments later when Bowen’s shot deflected into the path of Pablo but the January signing couldn’t keep his shot down.

Sunderland went close through Daniel Ballard’s looping header which went just wide of the target but West Ham were handed the opportunity to make it 2-0 when Trai Hume brought down Ollie Scarles.

Up stepped the ever-reliable Bowen, who slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner from 12 yards with a cool finish which Roefs couldn’t reach despite guessing the right way.

The Irons were in dreamland before the end of the half when Fernandes scored the pick of the goals with a wonderful strike into the top corner from all of 30 yards.

West Ham vs Sunderland second half

Regis Le Bris reacted to their horror first half by making a triple change at the break, with Reinildo Mandava, Trai Hume and Romaine Mundle hooked for Dennis Cirkin, Chemsdine Taibi and Habib Diarra.

The Hammers were in the unfamiliar position of holding onto a dominant lead in the second half and they generally dealt with any Sunderland threat well, with the hosts having the best chance when Valentin Castellanos forced Roefs into a save with a dangerous effort.

But the mood shifted inside the London Stadium with 25 minutes to go when Brobbey reduced the deficit by getting on the end of a superb Sadiki cross for what was another nicely-worked goal.

Substitute Wilson Isidor was presented with a notable chance inside the final 10 minutes on the volley but it was skied high into the stands.

Hearts were in mouths when a mis-hit Luke O’Nien cross ended up flying towards goal which Areola had to be alert to tip onto the post and then the crossbar.

Play was momentarily stopped when the referee was alerted to an apparent dispute between Granit Xhaka, who was unavailable for the game, and West Ham supporters with several words of discontent clearly being exchanged for the best part of five minutes.

There was chaos in added time as Fernandes crashed another brilliant strike off the crossbar, with the ball eventually looping back and hitting Tomas Soucek before Roefs could get the ball away, with the goal initially given before it was ruled out for a foul by the Czech.

But 3-1 was how the score ended with the final whistle sparking cheers of relief as much as joy as the Irons’ survival bid begins to gather pace after back-to-back wins.