Roeder pays price for Phillips' break

The elevation of Kevin Phillips, match-winner in Sunderland's 1-0 victory over West Ham, from non-league shelf-stacker to World Cup hopeful owes a great deal to his own determination to succeed.

But the 28-year-old will also remain grateful for a little help from his friends, among them West Ham boss Glenn Roeder, who was once employed by Watford to rummage outside the main leagues for talent. On one of his searches Roeder discovered Phillips, an ambitious former full back keen to make his mark up front. Unfortunately for West Ham, Roeder's intuition was all too accurate.

On Saturday it was one moment of the instincts Roeder spotted which ruined West Ham's afternoon and their best away display of the season. Roeder said:'The first three times I saw Kevin at Baldock Town he didn't score, but I knew he had it. I thought he was worth a punt at £10,000. 'After we'd signed him he was terrific. Unfortunately, I later recommended him to Peter Reid - now I wish I hadn't.' Phillips' sublime finish came from Julio Arca's cross, rightly identified by Reid as the best pass of the game. It was arguably the only pass. Sunderland's win owed a great deal to Thomas Sorensen, a goalkeeper whose influence increases by the week.This time it needed two reflex stops in 20 seconds to deny Joe Cole and Michael Carrick for his fifth clean sheet.