No Luck For Hammers Against Black Cats

It wasn’t the start to the 2025/26 Premier League season that West Ham United fans would have hoped for, as they lost 3-0 to newly-promoted Sunderland at The Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

All four of the club’s major summer signings were named in the matchday squad by Head-Coach Graham Potter however, only goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and defender El Hadji Malick Diouf made their full debuts for the club.

Both Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson were on the bench as were Youngsters Oliver Scarles and Freddie Potts, while Nayef Aguerd was back involved, following a season-long loan spell at Real Sociedad.

It was always going to be a tough encounter for Potter’s side, particularly with the electric atmosphere inside the ground but to be fair, both teams started brightly.

The Hammers could have gone ahead with only three minutes played when captain Jarrod Bowen tested home goalkeeper Robin Roefs Unfortunately for the travelling support though, he was equal to the effort. Moments later, Diouf tried his luck but he missed the target from the resulting corner.

The end-to-end nature of the opening period continued and Black Cats Head-Coach Régis Le Bris saw his side go close when Eliezer Mayenda set up Habib Diarra but his shot was well dealt with by Hermansen.

The visitors found their rhythm again and started to dominate proceedings. Clever play from Niclas Füllkrug then created two chances for his team. Unfortunately, the hosts were on their guard and produced vital blocks to keep the scores level.

Minutes later, Dan Ballard went close on two occasions but between them, both Bowen and Hermansen prevented any danger.

The first-half had been a hard fought affair and when referee Robert Jones blew the whistle for the break, it was still goalless.

Although the home side raised their game when the action recommenced, both teams continued to cancel each other out. Evidence of this was shown when Simon Adingra sent Chemsdine Talbi’s header wide and then,  Ballard was off-target with his attempt.

Just seconds later, the goal that the majority inside the stadium had been waiting eight years for finally came as, the ball was delivered into a good area and Mayenda headed past West Ham’s new stopper.

It took Potter until the seventy first minute to make his first changes, as both Guido Rodríguez and James Ward-Prowse were withdrawn in favour of Tomáš Souček and Wilson.

Unlike the change that Le Bris made, Potter wasn’t so lucky when he decided to make alterations. The home fans were cheering once more just two minutes later when the same tactic paid off again. Adingra’s ball took a deflection and Ballard got his name on the scoresheet, as he beat Hermansen with another header. It would have taken something special for the Irons to get back into this game at this point.

Another three minutes had passed before Le Bris made more changes, as Enzo Le Fée and Wilson Isidor were introduced for both Adingra and Mayenda.

The Black Cats had really nullified West Ham’s threat after the restart but, with twelve minutes of normal time left to play, they fashioned their first efforts of the closing period, as Diouf’s attempt was deflected wide.

One final substitution was made by the visitors on eighty two minutes, as Andrew Irving entered the fray for Jean-Clair Todibo and the Scotsman later played in Wilson but unfortunately, the former Newcastle United striker was denied by Roefs. The home fans certainly thanked their goalkeeper for keeping that effort out!!!

Seven minutes of stoppage time were added to the end of the game and shortly after that, it was certain that there would be no way back when Sunderland increased their advantage further with five minutes left through Isidor.

In my preview to this game, I mentioned the fact that the East Londoners don’t always do the double over newly-promoted sides and they can’t achieve that feat when the two sides meet again in January. It’s a familiar story, as the Irons are yet to get off the mark after another opening day defeat. They will have their ever-loyal fan base behind them on Friday night. The problem is that it is Chelsea who are the visitors to Stratford.