Three wins in a row! First-half goal blitz demolishes Mackems

West Ham 3 (three) Sunderland 1

It's an early start for the 12.30pm kick-off and straight to the ground for me. Which is just as well as Matt, Lisa, Nigel and Michael report mayhem, absent chefs and missed omelettes in the Best Cafe. After the win against QPR I've opted to keep my lucky Seventies away shirt and Xmas gifted grey WHU bobble hat which seemed to work last time.

Nuno selects the same side that won at Spurs and perhaps convinced that Hell is looking decidedly chilly, selects James Ward-Prowse on the bench. There's an anxious moment early on as a long-throw is headed clear and Sadiki's shot has to be tipped over by Areola.

But the Irons soon get their passing game going and without Paqueta we suddenly seem to have found some team spirit. On 14 minutes Wan-Bissaka releases Jarrod Bowen on the right. In a fine piece of old-fashioned wing play he beats Reinildo, gets to the line and stands up a cross for the diminutive Crysencio Summerville to head home. That's three in three games for Jimmy. 

Our problem this season has invariably been not getting a second after going ahead. That's remedied by a flowing eight-man passing move that sees Ollie Scarles burst into the box and fall over Hume's outstretched leg. Bowen dispatches the penalty into the corner.

Pablo has been involved in a couple of the passes in the move for the penalty and although his control is at times poor, he's working for the team and willing to get stuck in. Taty is chasing everything up front and without Paqueta, Fernandes is revelling in his role as midfield orchestrator. There's something to be said for fielding 11 faithfuls. 

The third goal arrives as Fernandes plays a great long ball from defence to Summerville on the left wing. He finds Castellanos whose shot is blocked by Ballard. The ball breaks to Fermandes thirty yards out and he wallops a delicious strike into the top corner. What sort of thing is happening here?

The booked Reinildo is lucky to stay on after another foul before the break but we're certainly happy with 3-0. Michael wonders if the relief chef at the Best Cafe has been inserting magic mushrooms into the food. We wonder why J G Ballard is in defence for Sunderland and if he wrote Crash about the Hammers. Though Matt speculates that Empire of the Son was a tribute to Spurs.

It would be nice to get four or five but Sunderland improve with three subs on. As ever West Ham defend too deep and Sunderland pull one back as Diarra finds Mukiele, whose cross is headed home by the unmarked Mr Brobbey. With 24 minutes left it gets a bit nervy though the closest the Mackems come to scoring is O'Nien's mishit shot that catches Areola out as he fumbles the effort on to the angle before catching it.

Nuno brings on Wilson, Potts and Diouf to manage the game. African Cup of Nations winner Diouf gets in some good solid headers while Wilson's turn in the box almost creates a chance. 

"Come on you Irons!" implore the home fans. West Ham almost get a fourth at the death as a corner is cleared and Fernandes lashes another fine shot against the bar. Wilson heads the rebound on and Soucek almost bundles the ball over the line but the ref awards a foul against the keeper as the Greek Bloke and Ballard tussle like rutting stags in the box.

So it ends 3-1 and that's three wins in a row. It's not the despair we can't take it's the hope. We head to the chilly beer garden of the Eagle to celebrate before Michael leaves to see a Mahler symphony, that's by Gustav not Joe. We might have left it too late but there are signs of life at last in beating a team in the top half. Irons!

PLAYER RATINGS: Areola 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Mavropanos 7, Todibo 6, Scarles 7 (Diouf 6); Soucek 6, Fernandes 8; Bowen 8, Pablo 6 (Wilson 6), Castellanos 6 (Potts 6), Summerville 8 (Kilman n/a).