HAMMERS have gone down 2-1 to Sunderland, who clinched the
Coca-Cola Championship title despite Marlon Harewood's
first-half goal giving West Ham the lead.
Harewood's 43rd minute strike gave Hammers the lead at the
interval, but goals from Julio Arca and Stephen Elliott confirmed
the Black Cats as champions.
Alan Pardew made just one change from the team that drew 2-2 with
Brighton, Bobby Zamora coming in for hamstring victim Teddy
Sheringham, who was named Hammer of the Year just before kick-off.
On the bench, Mark Noble returned from a jarred knee and Sergei
Rebrov after two months out with a calf injury.
Nigel Reo-Coker, at just 20 years of age West Ham United's
youngest ever captain, led the team out for this crucial fixture
into a cauldron of atmosphere inside the Boleyn Ground.
The Hammers fans had certainly done there bit before kick-off
welcoming the players with a wall of noise and support that
reverberated around Upton Park.
The home team responded, going on the attack right from the first
whistle. With just two minutes gone rookie goalkeeper Ben Alnwick
had to come along way to claim Tomas Repka's cross under
pressure from Marlon Harewood.
The stadium was alive with passion and West Ham were responding,
Matty Etherington's pinpoint corner unlucky to find a Hammers
head.
But the Hammers eagerness was leaving space for Sunderland in
behind and on 11 minutes the Black Cats broke away with Julio Arca
on the left and when his shot was blocked by Jim Walker, Chris
Brown was on hand to stab the ball home.
Silence momentarily descended on the Boleyn Ground, but the cheers
were quickly reignited when the linesman's flag went up for
offside.
It was the official on the opposite side saving Sunderland on 17
minutes, Zamora flagged as he got the faintest of touches on
Repka's pass, although the ball did bobble wide.
Two minutes later Harewood forced a flying save out of Alnwick with
a blistering 22 yard effort from a free-kick routine he worked well
with Etherington.
The game was being played at a pace that defied belief, West Ham
overrunning Sunderland through sheer work-rate.
Zamora took commitment beyond the letter of the law when he bundled
the ball and Alnwick into the net, the referee blowing for an
obvious foul, but with the fans cranking up the volume with every
Hammers attack it was West Ham enjoying almost all the attacking
pressure.
Just past the half hour passions began to spill over on the pitch
when a foul by Hayden Mullins on Dean Whitehead sparked a melee
that the officials quickly brought to order. Then, with 10 minutes
of the half remaining Harewood exchanged passes with Zamora in the
box, but his tame toe-poke drifted wide.
But the big striker was on target when, with just a minute of the
first-half remaining, West Ham, struck to raise the roof off the
Boleyn Ground.
Etherington created the chance, powering through the midfield and
feeding Harewood, who faked outside Gary Breen and drilled a shot
that canoed home off Alnwick's right-hand post.
Upton Park went delirious and not even two minutes of stoppage time
could dull the noise as Hammers went in 1-0 up at the break to
rapturous applause.
HT: 1-0
Marlon Harewood limped from the field at the end of the
first-half after a heavy challenge, but such was the passion of
this encounter there no replacement was even considered as the big
striker marched out for 45 crucial minutes of football.
It wasn't long before Harewood was making a nuisance of
himself, his challenge unsettling Ben Alnwick and after the
Sunderland goalkeeper had fumbled the ball appeared to leave an arm
in the striker's face. Another minor brawl ensued, with both
players receiving yellow cards.
But on 53 minutes Sunderland struck back to momentarily silence the
Upton Park faithful. Julio Arca supplied Chris Brown and his
sliding effort deflected past the onrushing Walker for Arca, who
had continued his run, to bundle the ball over the line before
Anton Ferdinand could make a challenge.
The Hammers fans responded to the equaliser with a rendition of
Bubbles that chilled the spine.
But it was Sunderland looking to take control, slowing down the
pace of the game in midfield.
Hammers were having none of it though, forcing their way back into
it and going close with Mullins' drive from the edge of the
area that whistled over the bar.
With Sunderland doing their best to restrict West Ham in midfield,
Pards introduced the pocket-dynamo Mark Noble in place of
Etherington.
On 78 minutes Hammers had an excellent penalty appeal waved away
when Nigel Reo-Coker's shot appeared to strike the hand of
substitute Danny Collins, before Noble's follow-up effort was
deflected wide off a Black Cats defender.
Two minutes later Shaun Newton won a free-kick 25 yards out and was
promptly replaced by Sergei Rebrov. The Ukraine striker stepped up
to the dead-ball and when his shot rebounded off the wall Mullins
let fly with a great strike that dipped agonisingly wide of
Alnwick's post.
Sunderland showed they were still in the game when substitute
Stephen Elliott ended a mazy run across the face of the box with a
low shot that brought the best out of Walker.
But there was nothing the Hammers goalkeeper could do moments later
as the same player swerved away from Anton Ferdinand and dispatched
a clinical finish past Walker to make it 2-1 to the Black Cats.
Hammers would not go quietly and threw everything at the visitors
as the fourth official announced four minutes of added time.
But Sunderland would not be denied and they held on to claim a 2-1
victory and the Coca-Cola League Championship for 2004/05, sparking
wild scenes of celebration in front of the travelling fans in the
Centenary Lower.
For the Hammers, they lost their place in the Play-off zone on goal
difference and now would have to place their hopes of a top six
finish on Reading's result at home to Wolves.