Gordon’s bad break stuns Black Cats

THE double substitution is either a managerial knack or an admission of desperation. Both managers chanced their arm here, but while Roy Keane was left cursing his luck all the way back to Wearside, Alan Curbishley was able to toast a precious, if unlikely, victory.

Keane may not have been in the dugout for long, but his decision to abandon a timid 4-5-1 formation at the break and discard Premier League rookies Ross Wallace and Roy O’Donovan was text book perfect: it completely transformed his side’s afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Sunderland manager, it produced only an equaliser and when Curbishley, well aware the natives were restless in east London, made his own double shake of the dice it was quickly accompanied by a huge slice of match-turning good fortune. Substitute Luis Boa Morte sent over a cross that was dispatched by substitute number two, Nolberto Solano, but it was the Black Cats goalkeeper Craig Gordon who was the goalscorer after the Peruvian’s shot bounced over the line via his ankle having first smacked into an upright. This was as much a surprise to the home fans as anybody. When the boards first went up to signal the changes the fans had been quick to tell Curbishley he didn’t know what he was doing.

Craig Bellamy wrapped up the points in stoppage time, with Boa Morte again supplying the cross, and Sunderland were left ruing an earlier moment of misfortune when Grant Leadbitter’s piledriver had also cannoned off a post with the game in the balance, with Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green having diverted it there with the save of the game.

The result means Keane’s side dip to 16th and they will fall again to the brink of the drop zone tonight should Tottenham avoid defeat at Newcastle.

The first half belonged to West Ham, although loan striker Jones headed the first of many good chances over before a minute was on the clock. Carlton Cole netted his first goal of the season in the ninth minute after former Black Cat George McCartney had got the better of O’Donovan, making his first start since his €500,000 summer switch from Cork City. As the Sunderland defence watched, Cole nipped in before a team-mate to head a gentle but perfectly-placed header beyond Gordon’s grasp.

Sunderland revived themselves to enjoy their best spell of the half with Jones forcing Green into a smart tip round of a 25-yard drive and the goalkeeper then did well to deny Liam Miller.

The Hammers might have doubled their advantage just after the half-hour mark, with the luckless O’Donovan again at fault as he conceded a free-kick on the left. Noble’s delivery found Lee Bowyer unmarked beyond the back post but the former England man headed over.

Keane’s decision to hook O’Donovan and Ross Wallace at the break, send on Michael Chopra and Anthony Stokes and switch to a 4-4-2 formation diverted the momentum towards his side. It took Jones just six minutes to equalise. Leadbitter swung over a corner and the £6 million capture from Southampton towered above Matthew Upson to head past Green.

Five minutes later Green produced his side’s defining moment when he thrust out an arm to divert Leadbitter’s rasping drive on to an upright after the Sunderland midfielder had latched on to Jones’s header and swivelled past Danny Gabbidon to tee up the shot.

Still the away side attacked; somehow the second goal never came. Jones saw a shot on the turn blocked, Dickson Etuhu’s header was hacked off the line by Noble and Jones headed wide after Greg Halford had picked him out with a cross.

Curbishley made his double swap in the 74th minute, with Noble and Matthew Etherington the men to make way, and within four minutes it had paid off with that most fortunate of goals. Solano popped up in the right place to meet Boa Morte’s cross after Nyron Nosworthy had failed to cut it out. Jones again headed inches wide at the other end but, when West Ham caught Sunderland in possession, the fit-again Bellamy made sure of the points in stoppage time with a smart finish past Gordon.

Boa Morte might have made it 4-1 but this time Gordon was able to come off his line and block to deny further injustice to his side.

WEST HAM (4-4-2): Green 8, Neill 6, Gabbidon 7, Upson 6, McCartney 8, Bowyer 7, Mullins 6, Noble 6 (Solano 74, 6), Etherington 6 (Boa Morte 74, 7), Bellamy 7, Cole 7 (Ferdinand 85, 5).

Subs not used: Wright, Camara.

SUNDERLAND (4-5-1): Gordon 7, Halford 6, Nosworthy 6, Higginbotham 7, Collins 7 (Harte 80, 5), Leadbitter 8, Miller 6, Etuhu 7, Wallace 6 (Stokes 46, 6), O’Donovan 5 (Chopra 46, 6), Jones 8.

Subs not used: Ward, Connelly.

REFEREE: Chris Foy (St Helens) 6. The Merseyside official did not have any controversial calls to make, but was quick to book transgressors.

MATCH RATING: **** A superb second half more than made up for the insipid moments of the first, with West Ham’s streaky winner and Robert Green’s save to deny Grant Leadbitter both memorable.