West Ham United 1 Sunderland 2

Last updated : 29 April 2005 By Footymad Previewer
There was joy and pain in equal measure at Upton Park as Stephen Elliott's 87th-minute winner both secured the Championship title for ecstatic Sunderland and sent West Ham out of the play-off spots.

And as the jubilant Wearsiders headed home to the Stadium of Light clutching their gleaming silverware, a dark cloud hung over Upton Park as another season of second-flight football loomed large on the horizon.

But the Hammers - with only Watford to play - had only themselves to blame for surrendering Marlon Harewood's interval lead to Julio Arca and Elliott.

Teddy Sheringham was on the pitch to collect his Hammer-of-the-Year award before the game but, alas for West Ham, a hamstring injury ruled their top scorer out of their most important match of the season.

How they needed their veteran, 21-goal striker who was replaced by the ineffective Bobby Zamora, while promoted Sunderland, requiring victory to clinch that Championship title, also made one change as George McCartney replaced Andy Welsh.

Roared on by a partisan East End crowd and buoyed by their unbeaten eight-game run the Hammers certainly started like an express train.

But in their haste to break the deadlock, they almost came off the rails when Chris Brown netted in the 11th-minute, however, fortunately for Alan Pardew's men, his effort was ruled out for offside.

And after Harewood's blistering 20-yarder was brilliantly tipped over by Ben Alnwick, it was Zamora's turn to see his conversion wiped out for a crude lunge on the Sunderland keeper.

With their conservative use of the ball, however, the Black Cats managed to take the venom out of West Ham's attacking bite and quell the excitable Upton Park crescendo.

But just when the opening period looked like ending goalless, the Londoners pounced.

Matthew Etherington's 43rd minute mazy, probing run carried him to the edge of the visitors' area.

From there he threaded the ball to Harewood, who unleashed a low ten-yarder past jockeying ex-Hammer Gary Breen and in-off the flat-footed Alnwick's right-hand post to lift the lid off Upton Park.

But there was an equally explosive start to the second half and, on 52 minutes, chaos reigned in the home box when Arca bundled home after Elliott Ward's attempted interception merely prodded the ball into the Argentinian's path after Marcus Stewart swept into the danger zone.

Having lost both their lead and the tempo, a weary West Ham, lacking attacking ideas never looked like stamping any further superiority on the game.

And just as the Hammers were coming to terms with the disappointment of having to settle for a single point, Sunderland substitute Elliott – who had just been foiled by James Walker – made no mistake second time around.

He curled a 15-yarder around both Ward and the West Ham keeper to secure that Championship trophy.