You are in > manchester.com  > News > Sloppy Sunderland held by Hammers

General Sports News

Sloppy Sunderland held by Hammers

01/10/2005

The spoils were shared at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland and West Ham went head to head for Saturday's evening kick off.

The match between the two newly promoted sides got off to a lively start, with both teams coming close to scoring early on.

Andy Gray missed a glorious opportunity to give the Black Cats the lead, but could only direct his free header straight into the hands of goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

At the other end, in-form striker Marlon Harewood brought the best out of Kelvin Davis, who made a sharp save.

The home side seemed to struggle without the creative influence of the injured Julio Arca, and were further hampered by an injury to Christian Bassila towards the end of the first time.

However, just before the interval, Sunderland struck, as Tommy Miller fired in from close range, his second goal in successive matches.

Carroll was kept busy by efforts from Stephen Elliott and Liam Lawrence, but with such a slender lead, West Ham were always in with a shout.

And so it was, with 18 minutes left to play, that Yossi Benayoun seized upon a defensive muddle to race clear and snatch a point for the Hammers.

© Adfero Ltd