Sunderland 2 - 2 West Ham United

Bruce's side battle back

Updated: October 31, 2009, 7:19 AM UK

Ten-man Sunderland came from two goals down at the Stadium of Light to snatch a deserved draw and deny West Ham a first Premier League win since the opening day of the season.

• Bruce blasts Ilunga

Things looked bleak for the hosts when goals from Guillermo Franco - his first for the club - and the impressive Carlton Cole put the Hammers two up.

But Andy Reid's superb free-kick gave them hope and, after Kenwyne Jones had seen red in first-half stoppage time, Kieran Richardson tapped home a cross from the returning Darren Bent to equalise.

West Ham also finished the game a man light after Radoslav Kovac was sent off late on.

The draw was no less than Steve Bruce's side deserved for a performance of real determination in an end-to-end second period and they might even had won it had leading scorer Bent taken one of the numerous chances that came his way.

Bent came close to marking his return from injury with a goal in the sixth minute. Jones' deflected shot fell kindly for captain Lorik Cana in the left of the area and the Albania international picked out Bent with his cross, but the striker's header went wide of the right post.

The tenacious Cana was booked in the 11th minute for a foul on Mark Noble. Cana then left his mark on Franco with another thunderous challenge, but referee Andre Marriner deemed it fair.

The visitors went ahead against the run of play in the 30th minute when Jack Collison ran on to a ball down the right channel and, having been correctly ruled onside, pulled it back for Franco, a summer signing from Villarreal, to side-foot home at the near post.

Gianfranco Zola's men almost made it two four minutes later but Craig Gordon athletically saved Cole's effort from inside the area.

The England man did score in the 36th minute, though, when his diagonal run was picked out by Collison's reverse ball and, after taking a touch, he slotted his finish past Gordon.

And it might have been worse for he hosts had Nyron Nosworthy not been given the benefit of the doubt when he looked like he might have brought down Cole as last man.

Valon Behrami was then booked for a foul on Steed Malbranque on the edge of the area, to the right of centre, and Reid took full advantage from the free-kick.

The Irishman curled it left-footed over the wall and into the near top corner to bring his side back into the match in the 38th minute.

But things got worse for Bruce's men when Jones was given a straight red in first-half stoppage time.

The striker was fouled by Herita Ilunga and retaliated by pushing him in the face.

Franco almost had a second two minutes after the restart when he met Noble's right-wing corner, but Gordon did well to save his downward header.

Robert Green then kept the visitors in front with two quickfire saves, first pushing Bent's low shot behind for a corner and then superbly parrying Michael Turner's header from the resulting set piece.

The 10 men were fired up and Bent should have levelled in the 51st minute.

The former Tottenham forward turned inside a defender in the right of the area, but as Green came out could only blaze his left-footed effort high and wide.

The Black Cats came desperately close in the 65th minute when Cana's header after a Reid corner came back off the crossbar and, from the rebound, Paula Da Silva's header was tipped on to the bar and behind by Green.

The momentum was with the hosts and Richardson pulled Sunderland level in the 76th minute.

Bent's cross from the right was deflected off Upson and looped high over the head of Green to the back post where the unmarked Richardson was on hand to help it home.

Cole then burst through the middle only to be denied by a last-ditch challenge from Nosworthy before he could shoot.

West Ham were reduced to 10 men in the 87th minute when Kovac was sent off, having picked up a second yellow for a foul on Bent.

The striker was handed a chance to win it moments later after running on to a long ball, but lashed his left-footed effort well wide.

The hosts then had Turner to thank after he cleared Noble's low shot off the line, while Bent just failed to connect at the back post with Jordan Henderson's hanging cross from the right as a thrilling contest ended all square.

Bruce blasts Ilunga

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce launched a scathing attack on the "play-acting'' by West Ham's Herita Ilunga after seeing Kenwyne Jones sent off in his side's 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light.

He said: "Kenwyne was wrong, I can't defend him. He's pushed him. That's all it is. Then I see the play-acting and then the medical people running on with an ice pack on an eye injury as if he's got a cut eye and there's nothing there. It's all just a ploy.

"I think there was Big Sam's (Sam Allardyce) quote in the week that if we're not careful we're going to turn it into a game for pansies. The referee has got a decision to make but I have to say Ilunga's play-acting left a lot to be desired. Whoever it was with the ice swab; he pulled it away and I was looking for a big gash of an inch and a half, I was looking to see if there was a bump. There wasn't even a bruise.

"The one thing that we don't want to see is what goes on around the world, all this diving nonsense. We want to see a spectacle and we got one, but let's not take away what everybody wants to see. They don't want to see this play-acting and trying to kid everybody.''

Bruce confirmed he spoke to Marriner at half-time and that Jones would be punished by the club. He added: "He pushed him in the chest. To go on like Ilunga's gone down, I would have been embarrassed. I would have smacked my kids' backsides if they had have done anything like that when they were playing football.''

Bruce felt his side could even have won the game with 10 men and West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola hailed Sunderland's fightback as "remarkable''. But the Italian admitted he could not tolerate the second-half display which denied his side a first win since the opening day of the season.

Zola said: "Certainly their determination, their desire, was superior to ours, simple as that. They just overcame the man light that they had and that was it. We lost control of the game. From a game that was totally, totally ours, we let them in and in this league you can't afford that. We had chances after but it was too late. From how the team played in the first half we should come out with a victory. To be fair their comeback was remarkable because it wasn't an easy situation.''

Last weekend it was the Hammers who came from 2-0 down to claim a draw against Arsenal. Zola added: "They did the same to us and it was remarkable the fighting spirit they had and the desire to come back. But we have to be a little bit more cynical in situations like that because the game in my opinion was finished. We lost control and I cannot tolerate that.''

Zola admitted the red card shown to Jones was perhaps a little harsh but was also disappointed with Kovac's dismissal, the Czech picking up a second yellow for a foul on Bent. He added: "Kovac didn't even see the guy. There was no intention.''