Sunderland 0 West Ham United 1

Saturday, 19th October 2002
by Steven Barlow

6am Saturday morning and our crew of seven left sunny Dagenham for a weekend of madness in the North East. The team consisted of four cast-iron West Ham fans, Lol the Gooner, Joe (attending his first ever match) and Ian the Mackem.

Arriving at our hotel at one, a quick check in, freshen up and off to the Stadium of Light. After a swift pair in the Halfway House we left Lol andIan as they entered the home end and made our way in.

A decent show of Hammers fans had made the long journey. On taking our seats we noted a weird atmosphere; Wilkinson and Cotterill were introduced to a warm round of applause, but the air of uncertainty about the pair was evident.

Our line up saw the return of Christian Dailly at right back and Ian Pearce starting in his rightful centre-back position for the first time this season. Dour Howard provided the biggest shock. No Quinn or Flo up front, so probably for the first time in history a Wilko side contained no giant lump.

From the off there was a work ethic and determination from West Ham rarely seen this season. Lomas and Carrick were superb in the centre of the park. Lomas showed us why sometimes we look a better side with him in, hassling and tackling as though his life depended on it. Carrick, on his return to native soil showed his poor run of form is truly behind him.

This wasn't a pretty match. Sunderland played everything on the deck (suprise no.2 from Wilko) but the West Ham back four took everything that was thrown at them and, on the rare occasion the Black Cats managed an attempt on goal, the linesman was there to save the day. Give that official a knighthood.

Our goal was a piece of genius. Di Canio's 50 yard pass, Sinclair's belter of a finish. I'm sure you've all seen it by now. Words can't do it justice. As Trev and a couple of the boys celebrated a la Bebeto & Romario the rest made a show of making their delight known to Roeder. The man, despite the rumours clearly has the backing of the players.

The second half saw the inevitable push by the home side. Bellion replaced the ineffective Piper and caused us no end of problems. Phillips had a goal disallowed for offside (rightly so, the lino had his flag up very early. Top man!) and Quinn hit the post when allowed far too much time to bring the ball down. The defence, led by the immense Pearce held out though.

Sadly our returning centre-half didn't make the end. He had already taken a big knock in the first half and eventually succumbed to it with about 20 minutes to go. I thought that might spell trouble, but Gary Breen came on and kept up the good work.

I watched most of the remainder of the match with head in hands, panicking. But we held out and towards the end were treated to a fantastic piece of showboating time-wasting by Di Canio, Cole and Minto. Real p*ss-taking, intricate passing.

As the home fans drifted off to a chorus of 'Wilkinson will take you down' the celebrations began. Three points in the bag and a night of debauchery on the Quayside in Newcastle awaiting. We met up with a very unhappy Ian & a shellshocked Lol who had just heard his team's long unbeaten run had been ended by a kid less than half his age!!! Quality ...

The night time entailed a visit to Buffalo Joe's, where the delightfully attractive barmaids dress wearing cowboy hats, bikinis and leather chaps, and to the equally pleasant Baha Beach Club, where they don't bother with the cowboy hats & chaps. Splendid.

Met up with KUMB legend Sicknote & his mate (whose name escapes me - sorry, it's the drink you know). The official KUMB drink was downed in large quantities and mixed with a combination of Stella, San Miguel, Smirnoff Ice and Archers. It does not make for a particularly good hangover.

Waking up (well the Red Bull said to the brain UP!!!!, whilst the body didn't respond accordingly) to the sights of the Premiership and some stunning women at breakfast things seemed to be set for a long, but entertaining journey home. Sadly disaster struck as we suffered a burst tyre just 20 minutes into the journey.

After a 4.5 hour wait we were eventually towed away, arriving back at blighty around 11pm, thoroughly knackered and feeling like shit. Ah well, it took the shine off a little - but not enough to ruin what was a fantastic Saturday.

Player Ratings

David James (7) Didn't have much to do, but what he did he did well.

Christian Dailly (7) Stepped in at right back for Archie. Didn't get
forward much, but was solid as required for away trips.

Scott Minto (6) Another competent display from Scottie. Had Piper in his pocket in the first half. After the break Bellion gave him a bit of
a runaround.

Tomas Repka (6) Occasional misjudgments but thankfully not punished.

Ian Pearce (9) Man of the Match. An absolute rock at the back.

Trevor Sinclair (8) Fantastic goal, & on what was a quiet day
offensively posed our biggest threat

Michael Carrick (8) Great performance by Michael. Worked hard,
passing was superb

Steve Lomas (8) I've never been his biggest fan but today he worked himself into the ground. Tackling was fierce, never let the Sunderland midfield a chance to get a grip of the game

Joe Cole (7) Relatively quiet day for Joe. Forced a good save in the
first half & involved in some delightful clock killing at the end

Jermain Defoe (6) Lively enough, but suffered in a game where
forwards were starved of clear cut opportunities

Paolo Di Canio (8) Killer pass to set up the goal. Tears of joy at
the end. God this man is a legend. New contract please!!!!!

Gary Breen (7) Replaced Pearce who suffered a couple of heavy knocks. Came in and didn't let anyone down.

Edouard Cisse (7) On for Sinclair. Survived one particularly nasty
tackle. I'd like to see him play more regularly. Given time I believe he could be a very good player for us.

KUMB Stats

West Ham United: James, Minto, Repka, Dailly, Pearce (Breen 68), Cole, Lomas, Carrick, Sinclair (Cisse 77), Di Canio, Defoe.

Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, Winterburn, Camara.

Sunderland: Macho, Gray, Babb, Craddock, Wright, Kilbane, Reyna (Thirlwell 79), McCann, Piper (Bellion 45), Phillips, Stewart (Quinn 61).

Subs not used: Bjorklund, Ingham.

Goals: Sinclair (23)

Booked: Kilbane, Carrick

Attendance: 44,352

Referee: Graham Barber

KUMB Man of the Match: Ian Pearce

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Match Facts

West Ham United: , , , , , , , , , , .

Goals: None.

Booked: None.

Sent off: None.

: .

Subs not used: .

Goals: .

Booked: .

Sent off: None.

Referee: .

Attendance: 0.

Man of the Match: .