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West Ham United 0-3 Sunderland
Match Reports, 18:21, May 22, 2011
West Ham dropped out of the Premiership with a whimper after falling to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at home to Sunderland.
Chants of 'that's why we're going down' rang around the Boleyn Ground at the final whistle as fans poured out of the exits in the hope that their owners can appoint a manager to turn around their fortunes in the Championship next season.
Sunderland meanwhile registered their highest ever points tally in a top-flight campaign and this season, for all of its disappointments, will go down in the club's history.
There was hope in the West Ham camp of a rousing end-of-season performance at Sunderland who had not won at Upton Park since 2001. These were ruled out after 17 minutes however when Boudewijn Zenden scored a rare header on his last appearance for the Black Cats.
Simon Mignolet made several saves to keep his side ahead, denying Frederic Piquionne and Freddie Sears for the Hammers who tried to level the scoreline before the interval.
The visitors always looked in control however and put daylight between the sides six minutes into the second-half when Stephane Sessegnon doubled the scoreline. Sessegnon was allowed far too much room by the Hammers defence as he ran the ball 20-yards through the centre of the pitch before firing a low shot past Rob Green.
Cristian Riveros put the icing on the cake three minutes into injury time. Jordan Henderson provided the assist as the Paraguayan beat Lars Jacobsen to the ball to fire home from close range.
Caretaker manager Kevin Keen was given a managerial masterclass by Steve Bruce and the result will have damaged his hopes of securing the vacant West Ham managerial position.
Hammers fans will be interested in Keen's squad selection however. The coach announced he would not be playing any 'want-away' players in his squad to face Sunderland and the absence of the likes of Carlton Cole, Demba Ba and Matthew Upson may not come as a surprise to the East London faithful.
Scott Parker received a standing ovation when he came on as a 60th minute substitute and it is likely to have been his last appearance in a West Ham shirt. The three times Hammer-of-the-Year winner looks set to depart from Upton Park but the fans will remember their vice-captain as a highlight in an otherwise dismal season.
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