West Ham 0-3 Sunderland: Triple blow for Hammers as Sunderland get top 10 finish

EPL:Boudewijn Zenden – Ahmed Elmohamady, West Ham United v Sunderland

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Sunderland ended the season with a 3-0 win over West Ham at the Hammers ended their Premier League stay with a flat performance at Upton Park.

West Ham went into the game knowing their relegation fate was sealed, whilst Sunderland looked to end a slump of poor results that had seen them slip down the table.

It was a poignant day for Sunderland captain Boudewijn Zenden who lined up for the Mackems for the last time.

Sunderland made the better start as Asamoah Gyan forced Rob Green into an early save, and it was fairly end to end as both teams tried to end the season with a win.

But a torrid season for the Hammers carried on when Zenden marked his farewell with the opening goal at Upton Park. Elmohamady looped in a lovely ball which the Dutchman headed past the helpless Rob Green.

The home side were playing fluently but couldn’t find a way past a stubborn Mignolet, and he pulled off his best save in first-half stoppage time to deny Zavon Hines.

Early on in the second half it looked like West Ham would be entering the Championship in timid fashion when Stephane Sessegnon found the bottom corner with a pot-shot from the edge of the area.

Stand in manager Kevin Keen threw on Lars Jacobsen and Victor Obinna on to try and salvage something from a frustrating performance, but they still couldn’t find a goal to give the fans anything to cheer about.

The away side put on 21-year-old Jordan Cook for only his second appearance, and the game began to peter out towards a victory for his side.

Steve Bruce’s men added a third late on amongst drama elsewhere, Cristian Riveros scoring a third to end West Ham’s poor season.