Cole searches for perfect goal
After his 45-minute cameo for England, Joe Cole might have been excused for milking the well of East End affection, going through the motions and turning in a few party tricks for good measure.
But not only was Cole a delight to watch on the ball as the Hammers strengthened their grip on seventh place, his commitment to try to win it back underlined the difference between Glenn Roeder's side and shoddy Sunderland. A key part in two goals might have been enough for many.
Yet Cole, wrongly denied his first Premiership goal of the season by an errant flag, left the pitch angry for not quite measuring up to the standards he sets himself.
He said: 'I just want to play better. I'm looking for that perfect game and I'm never happy after a game unless it's perfect.
' I never shirk the ball - that's bravery in football. Bravery is not flying into tackles, it's getting on the ball and playing, especially when the chips are down.'
Arguably, though, Cole was at least partially eclipsed by the man whose place in the World Cup squad he is close to taking.
Trevor Sinclair had delivered the cross which Cole converted before the celebrations were cut short, but drilled in the opener from a Sebastian Schemmel pass.
It was Sinclair, fed by Cole's incisive ball, who set up Steve Lomas to double West Ham's lead and the midfielder then nodded Lomas's cross back across goal for Jermain Defoe to head into an empty net.
A miserable nine away goals is graphic evidence of Sunderland's poverty and while Peter Reid accused his players of 'caving in', his unwillingness to go ballistic perhaps signalled an acceptance he might be employed elsewhere come summer.
