West Ham 0 Sunderland 0:ONCE MORE South America could be West Ham's salvation. For Carlos Tevez of Argentina read Ilan Araujo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian with an Italian passport. Tevez' goals kept West Ham United in the Premier League three seasons ago. Now Ilan's scoring habits could do the same.
Having come off the bench to secure a point for Gianfranco Zola’s team at Everton with a hurtling header six days earlier, Ilan brought West Ham their first win in eight games on Saturday when he reacted faster than Sunderland’s defenders as Carlton Cole nodded on a free-kick from Manuel Da Costa and prodded the ball past Craig Gordon.
The victory has left West Ham four points above the bottom three with a favourable goal difference. A win against Wigan in their next home match could make them all but safe.
“Thirty-four points might be enough but we will try to get more,” Zola said.
Zola’s decision to start Saturday’s match with the 29-year-old Brazilian partnering Cole up front owed something to Mido’s virus, but Ilan’s performance during his 12 minutes on the pitch at Goodison had much to do with it. “He is becoming very effective for us and is making a big difference,” the West Ham manager said.
Ilan’s winner six minutes into the second half redeemed a match which was boring itself to death amid a confusion of misplaced passes and half-formed ideas. Teams struggling in April are seldom a pretty sight and without the suspended Scott Parker West Ham lacked the means to find a way through Sunderland’s packed midfield and get at their back four.
Mark Noble was imaginative and Valon Behrami industrious but until Ilan scored the only threat to Sunderland came from some uncharacteristic fumbles by Gordon.
During half-time Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, reminded his players that the biggest danger lay in “a Carlton Cole flick-on and somebody running through”. Talk about self-fulfilling prophesies. “It was a bad goal to give away,” said Bruce.
On Saturday West Ham supporters were belting out bubbles with renewed vigour while keeping fingers and toes crossed.
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