Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United: “Till the End” – Black Cats mark Premier League return with stunning win | OneFootball

Sunderland marked their return to the Premier League with a stunning 3-0 win over West Ham United at the Stadium of Light.

Eliezer Mayenda scored their first topflight goal in eight years just past the hour mark, from which point they went from strength to strength.

Dan Ballard doubled the advantage with a towering header 12 minutes later, before Wilson Isidor put the cherry on top of a hugely impressive victory in stoppage-time.

As it happened

Most people, when Sunderland entered the equation, might not have regarded The Black Cats as much. Most thought of them as just another side who would eventually fall into the relegation zone and then receive a parachute payment, which would help them stay afloat in the league below.

Few would expect, however, that in their opening game against West Ham, a proven and reputable Premier League side, Sunderland were all in for victory, and fought “till the end,” as their Championship promotion slogan stated.

In what became an absolutely outstanding performance by The Black Cats, there existed a very new and unique drive for the side, one which was hardly seen before.

In the first half, they fought hard to keep level, as West Ham kept up the pressure and were adamant to break through on their opening day. However, as the second half commenced, a brilliant cross into the box found Mayenda, who tactfully headed it into the top left-hand corner of the goal, breathing new life into Sunderland’s first impressions back in the Premier League.

It was very clear that this created new momentum into the remainder of the match and gave Sunderland the shining hope that maybe, just maybe, they weren’t everyone’s relegation prediction team.

Just as spectators thought West Ham were about to draw level, The Black Cats fired another cross into the box, which found Ballard, the Championship semi-final hero, at the far post. He headed it in and, amid the roar of the crowd behind the net, gave Sunderland a 2-0 advantage.

Thinking it was still possible to salvage a result, West Ham had a few decent chances, but the hosts remained poised and composed, holding their defensive line solidly.

In stoppage time, Sunderland lived up to last season’s motto of “till the end,” when a stunning strike from just outside the box by Isidor found the bottom left of the goal, going straight past the keeper and giving Sunderland an absolutely spectacular 3-0 lead – an opening day they could only have dreamed about.

Suddenly, Sunderland may just be the dark horse of the league, or the unexpected powerhouse, spearheaded by three brilliant goals.

In what became an unexpected and, for many, unbelievable return of The Black Cats to the Premier League, Sunderland faced off against a proven Premier League side in West Ham. No one expected Sunderland to come away with such a comprehensive victory.

The lineups

SUN: Roefs; Hume, Ballard, Seelt, Reinildo; Diarra, Xhaka, Sadiki; Talbi, Mayenda, Adingra