On This Day (31st October 2009): Richardson rescues a point against the Hammers!

10/31/2024 02:00 AM

Down to 10 men, Sunderland claw back a hard-fought point against West Ham in a thrilling comeback marked by resilience, controversy, and a sensational free kick from Andy Reid.

With Steve Bruce's Sunderland looking like formidable opponents at home, their match against 19th-placed West Ham was seen as the perfect opportunity to extend their home winning run to five games on the trot.

What transpired, however, was quite different, as Gianfranco Zola's team showed immense grit and some quality football in a first-half display that saw them go 2-0 up. In truth, things could have been worse for Bruce's team if not for the performance of goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who pulled off a string of impressive saves to ensure we had a fighting chance in the game.

After a decent start, where Darren Bent could have done better with a header from a Steed Malbranque cross, West Ham began to take control, with midfielder James Collison particularly impressive.

On the half-hour mark, Collison broke the offside trap down the right, and with Sunderland defenders scrambling back to cover, his cross was inch-perfect for Guillermo Franco to side-foot in West Ham's first goal.

Six minutes later, they deservedly doubled their lead. Collison was pivotal again, winning the ball and driving toward the Sunderland box before feeding Cole, who took the ball in his stride and slotted it in.

Unsurprisingly, a chorus of boos echoed around a shell-shocked Stadium of Light, with fans taken aback at the 0-2 deficit, which hadn't seemed likely given West Ham's lowly position in the table.

We responded well and got a break three minutes after the second goal when Steed Malbranque was fouled on the edge of the box. With a rejuvenated Andy Reid in the Sunderland team, this was prime territory for the Irishman. After a delay that felt like an eternity, Reid flighted the ball over the wall and into the top left-hand corner of Robert Green's goal, much to the relief of the home crowd, who were becoming increasingly edgy.

In typical Sunderland fashion, just as we had a sniff of a route back into the game, we made things harder when Kenwyne Jones was sent off in a moment of hot-headedness. Jones was shown a straight red by referee Andre Mariner for pushing over Ilunga after the two had clashed in an aerial challenge. Despite Jones' action, one might question the exaggerated way in which Ilunga threw himself to the floor, more akin to something seen at the Empire Theatre than the Stadium of Light.

Going in 1-2 down at half-time with ten men was a tough spot for Steve Bruce's team, but their second-half performance was nothing short of majestic. Forced into a 4-4-1 formation, Bruce made no personnel changes, but the team's raised tempo ensured West Ham would not have it all their own way, making the away side look like they had the player deficit.

Michael Turner's powerful header from a corner was superbly saved one-handed by Green, and moments later Bent fired over after turning inside James Tomkins.

When Green wasn't holding Sunderland at bay, the woodwork proved an effective stand-in. In one attack, we struck the bar with two headers: the first from Cana, followed by a quick rebound effort from Paulo da Silva.

With ten minutes to go, we finally found the equaliser, with Kieran Richardson's determination rewarded as he got on the end of a deflected Darren Bent cross. Richardson's run from deep exemplified the intensity, determination, and work rate that defined the team's second-half display.

Late on, West Ham also saw a man sent off for a second yellow card after a late challenge on Darren Bent.

For Steve Bruce, this result felt like a victory, and after the game, he expressed his satisfaction with the draw despite the play-acting from Ilunga that led to Jones' red card.

Kenwyne's wrong, he's pushed him but is there any need for Ilunga to go down like he does?

Referees have a difficult job but I think players have to look at themselves.

Some of the stuff we played in the second half was terrific, you'd think West Ham had the ten men.