DICK ADVOCAAT wanted to focus on the football and his players did, but that was still not enough for Sunderland to finally end the wait for a first Premier League win of the season at the Stadium of Light.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the head coach’s future after 48 hours of suggestions he could leave once West Ham had visited the region, the Black Cats turned in the best performance of the campaign so far and threatened to claim three points.

In fact they probably should have but Advocaat, who waved to the fans as he walked down the tunnel at the end, had to settle for a 2-2 draw after Jeremain Lens was sent off midway through the second half.

Sunderland secured a two-goal lead through Steven Fletcher and Lens’ strikes during an impressive first half display in which they should have gone even further ahead.

But Carl Jenkinson, who Sunderland tried to sign in the summer, delivered a hammer blow in stoppage-time at the end of the first half to give West Ham hope going in to the second 45 minutes.

After Lens was red carded for a clumsy foul – earning him a second yellow – in the 57th minute, it took West Ham just three minutes to make the extra man count when Dimitri Payet made the most of a blunder from goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon.

Had it not been for that stoppage-time goal from Jenkinson, the first half from Sunderland would have been just about perfect.

They looked dangerous, attacked willingly and defended accordingly to torment a Hammers side which had won three consecutive away games in the Premier League against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.

While the spotlight might have been on Advocaat, his decision to make three changes, which included a recall to the starting line-up for Fletcher, paid off after a pretty low-key opening when the atmosphere seemed flat.

But once Sunderland had taken the lead, and in style, the nerves disappeared. The opener arrived when Fabio Borini had been pushed to the floor in the corner by Jenkinson.

Yann M’Vila took the dead ball, side-footing a powerful low cross towards the penalty spot for Fletcher. The Scotland striker had lost his marker James Tomkins and applied the first time shot beyond goalkeeper Adrian in the tenth minute.

You could sense what it meant to the players and the relief paved the way for half an hour of the most attractive football Sunderland have played in more than a year. Chances were created regularly and the most frustrating thing was that there was only the one more goal.

That arrived 12 minutes later when Lens’ pressure forced the defender in to an error. M’Vila side-footed an early pass from the loose ball through for the Dutchman.

With a West Ham man chasing, Lens decided to chip a nonchalant effort early over Adrian and he watched his brilliance end with the ball clipping the underside of the bar and crossing the line.

The extra cushion gave Sunderland the encouragement to press for more and they should have added at least one more before West Ham pulled one back. Borini hit the side-netting and narrowly missed the target twice, once after a brilliant move involving Ola Toivonen, M’Vila and Fletcher.

But Sunderland’s failure to add to their first half lead opened the door for West Ham to close the gap in stoppage-time. Victor Moses darted down the line with twists and turns before cutting a ball back from the byline for Jenkinson to arrive and power low beyond Pantilimon.

And then, despite a decent start to the second half from the home side, Sunderland’s afternoon became harder when Lens was sent off for wrapping two feet around Reid and he was already on a caution.

Playing against ten men lifted West Ham and they soon pulled level. Pantilimon made a complete mess of Manuel Lanzini’s 25-yard shot and the bounce off the keeper fell kindly for Payet to nip in and score.

Sunderland still had their moments, but the remainder of the game was more about preventing West Ham from hitting a winner. They managed to do just that, now all eyes are on whether Advocaat will be still in charge after the international break.

SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1): Pantilimon; Yedlin, Coates, O’Shea, Jones; Cattermole, M’Vila (Gomez 90); Lens, Toivonen (Larsson 84), Borini; Fletcher (Rodwell 85). Subs: Mannone (gk), van Aanholt, Brown, Defoe.

WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Adrian; Jenkinson, Reid (Collins 65), Tomkins, Cresswell; Kouyate, Noble (Zarate 79); Lanzini, Payet, Moses (Jelavic 58); Sakho. Subs: Randolph (gk), Obiang, Antonio, Oxford.

HOW TWITTER REACTED TO THE RESULT:

Austin Moore Farrow ‏@CominWithMoore 

"All in all, an okay first Premier League start for DeAndre Yedlin today. Certainly something he can build upon. #SAFC"

Michael Lavelle ‏@RubixSAFC  

"In all seriousness, some good performances let down by really poor goals. To let that lead slip when so comfortable was unforgivable #SAFC"

Ben Fraser ‏@Ben_Fraser_  

"Daylight robbery by the referee; cost #SAFC three points today"

Scott ‏@76skelly 

"Got to be honest and say I was impressed with Yedlin and Jones. Jones man of the match for me #SAFC"

Laura Scott ‏@LilBabalou 

"Really didn't think I'd be so disappointed with a draw today #safc"