Pardew: hats off to Sunderland

Alan Pardew has conceded that his side were second best on an afternoon in which they scraped a draw at the Stadium of Light.

West Ham took a lucky point from the game thanks to Yossi Benayoun's coolly taken 70th minute strike - but Pardew was under no illusions that it was deserved.

"You have to take your hat off to the opposition sometimes," he told the BBC. "We did not a get a chance to play our game, and when we did Sunderland were swarming all over us.

"Their organisation was spot on and they did a job. The good news for us is that we've had someone biting us on the bottom and we have reacted to it.

"Sunderland did to us what we have been doing to other teams; they were all over us. They gave us no time to settle and knocked a few of my players out of their stride.

"But we've showed a bit of quality - and the goal knocked the energy out of them."

A disappointed Mick McCarthy - whose team are still searching for their first Premiership home win since 2002 - added:

"I've got no complaints with our performance - but the game should have been over and done with by the time West Ham scored."

To watch the full BBC post-match interview with McCarthy, click here. To watch the BBC post-match interview with Alan Pardew in full, click here.