Mayenda Sparks Stunning Sunderland Start To Increase Potter’s West Ham Pain

Advertising hoardings dotted astir Sunderland are adorned pinch inviting images of long, sandy beaches and induce visitors to embark connected adventures successful “our metropolis by nan sea”. It is each portion of an £80m task designed to reinvent and regenerate nan post-industrial riverside area astir nan Stadium of Light, but West Ham had evidently not bargained for this rejuvenation to widen to nan shot team.

As nan 2nd half unfolded an exhilarating day that exceeded nan wildest dreams of moreover nan astir optimistic Sunderland fans became not truthful overmuch an escapade arsenic an ordeal by nan North Sea for West Ham. Right from nan commencement a Sunderland starting XI featuring 7 debut-making summertime signings and only 3 survivors of May’s playoff last triumph looked quick, agile and highly nimble footed.

When Habib Diarra, nan nine grounds £30m midfielder from Strasbourg, showed disconnected an awesome alteration of first-half gait arsenic he executed a slick one-two pinch Eliezer Mayenda, nan bosom of West Ham’s defence was pierced and Diarra had only Mads Hermansen to beat.

Although West Ham’s £20m goalkeeping bargain from Leicester rescued nan business pinch a decent save, it was clear nan hosts would beryllium nary pushovers. And peculiarly not pinch Diarra offering fleet-footed excellence and Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka, precocious arrived from Bayer Leverkusen, performing a quasi-sweeping domiciled astatine nan guidelines of midfield.

Not that nan visitors were precisely retired of things astatine that stage. For a while successful nan first half, they forced Sunderland into counterattacking mode and it took a sliding, 11th hour, clearance connected Dan Ballard’s portion to forestall El Hadji Malick Diouf shooting West Ham up arsenic Jarrod Bowen proved a increasing irritant to Sunderland’s backline.

One of football’s small mysteries revolves astir nan nonaccomplishment of 1 of nan alleged “top six” clubs to realise precisely really bully Bowen is and threat him up. Goodness knows wherever West Ham would beryllium without him.

Even so, Régis Le Bris could beryllium softly pleased that Robin Roefs, Sunderland’s caller Netherlands Under-21 goalkeeper who was preferred to nan playoff leader Anthony Patterson successful goal, had not been complete exerted.

Dan Ballard heads location nan 2nd extremity of nan lucifer for Sunderland. Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Ltd/Ed Sykes/Apl/Sportsphoto

From his vantage constituent successful nan directors’ container Nordi Mukiele must person felt reassured he was making nan correct prime successful swapping Paris Saint-Germain for Sunderland. That move is poised to beryllium confirmed imminently pinch nan full-back becoming signing No 12 of this busiest of adjacent seasons connected Wearside.

Simon Adingra almost made a scoring commencement to life successful reddish and achromatic stripes aft arriving from Brighton but, instead, sent a changeable swerving and dipping conscionable wide. Shortly afterwards Diarra almost crowned a memorable debut pinch a extremity yet lifted his left-foot changeable conscionable a fraction to high.

It did not matter arsenic Omar Alderete, nan Paraguay centre-half, different making his debut, hooked a transverse into nan area and Mayenda, a scorer astatine Wembley successful May, backed into his marker earlier someway managing to contort his assemblage into a position from wherever he headed Sunderland into nan lead.

As nan tile threatened to travel off, West Ham recovered themselves up against not simply nan beingness obstruction presented by Alderete and friends but a formidable wall of noise.

Graham Potter’s consequence was to liberate Callum Wilson from his chair and nan erstwhile Newcastle striker trotted connected to a cacophony of boos. Before Wilson could get his bearings West Ham were 2 down, nan unattended Ballard having guided a tremendous header beyond Hermansen aft gathering Adingra’s heavy cross. As bully arsenic nan first 2 Sunderland goals were, they were facilitated by dreadful visiting defending.

Hermansen will not want to watch replays of nan third, coiled successful impressively by nan substitute Wilson Isidor who, aft gathering a Xhaka pass, ran astatine nan backmost statement earlier unleashing an effort that nan goalkeeper touched but could not hold.