By Conor Hogan

West Ham secured another crucial three points on Saturday, beating Sunderland 3-1 to register their first Premier League win at London Stadium since November.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side fully deserved the win in what was probably the Irons’ best performance of the season so far.

The Hammers started the game in a similar fashion to their outing at Spurs last weekend, under pressure in the opening exchanges, but soon finding their rhythm. Then on 14 minutes, Jarrod Bowen’s cross found Crysencio Summerville, who opened the scoring with a powerful, close-range header.

Refreshingly, Nuno’s side didn’t stop there. One of the concerns at last week’s interval was that the Hammers hadn’t fully capitalised on their excellent first half performance in North London. But just before the half-hour mark, Ollie Scarles was fouled in the Sunderland box, winning the Irons a penalty. In the absence of Lucas Paquetá, Jarrod Bowen stepped up and dispatched an excellent spot-kick to double his side’s lead.

For the first time since November, the Hammers had a two-goal lead and things got even better when Mateus Fernandes scored a screamer from outside the box to put West Ham 3-0 up going into half-time. 

It was a phenomenal opening 45 minutes from Nuno’s side, but they still had the second half to manage. Despite a decent start to the half, things got nervy for the Irons on 66 minutes when Nordi Mukilele’s cross found Brian Brobbey, who grabbed a goal back for Régis Le Bris’ side. Suddenly, the Hammers looked uneasy.

Sunderland grew into the game as Nuno made three substitutions in quick succession. Callum Wilson, El Hadji Malick Diouf & Freddie Potts replaced Taty Castellanos, Pablo & Ollie Scarles, helping to nullify the Black Cats’ threat. The trio added energy and balance to restore composure in the home side, who managed the closing stages of the game admirably.

The last few minutes of the game weren’t without drama however, as Luke O’Nien’s bizarre effort forced Alphonse Areola into a superb, improvised save. Then, in stoppage time, a crazy turn of events transpired. Mateus Fernandes rattled the crossbar with another long-range strike, before the ball bounced off the back of Tomáš Souček and over the goal line. 

The Czech was in an offside position, so the goal didn’t count – and all the while, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Omar Alderete were squaring off, oblivious to what was happening around them. 

The final whistle blew and Nuno’s side clawed slightly closer to safety. The Irons are now only two points from Nottingham Forest in 17^th, although both they and Leeds have games in hand. But things are starting to look promising for the Hammers. 

Maybe there’s still a chance – COYI!