The Brazilian striker Ilan followed up his point-saving goal at Everton last week by grabbing a second-half winner against Sunderland this afternoon to bolster West Ham’s hopes of avoiding relegation. Gianfranco Zola’s team climbed above Wigan and are now four points above the drop zone.

Throughout this campaign West Ham have tended to begin matches briskly before fading feebly but here it was the opposite as the visitors started the stronger. Timid West Ham defending allowed a Steed Malbranque corner to curl across the face of goal in the ninth minute, Frazier Campbell narrowly failing to apply a decisive touch. Six minutes later Darren Bent peeled off Manuel Da Costa to collect a Lee Cattermole pass but, mercifully for Rob Green, his lob over the keeper dropped on to the roof of the net.

Valon Behrami produced West Ham’s first effort of a guileless game a minute later, a snap shot from 25 yards that drew a solid one-handed save from Craig Gordon.

Gordon looked less clever in the 35th minute when he prevented Carlton Cole from tracking down a through ball by handling just outside the box. The goalkeeper then sabotaged West Ham’s attempt to take the free-kick quickly, yet still the referee, Mike Jones – the man who awarded Sunderland a goal against Liverpool earlier this season after Bent’s shot deflected off a beach ball – showed only a yellow card. Perhaps the sense of injustice rallied the hosts because moments later they forged their best chance so far. However, after strong work by Cole, Kieran Richardson blocked Ilan’s shot in extremis.

Gordon benefited from another dubious decision two minutes later when he rugby-tackled Cole after spilling the ball during an aerial challenge. The referee was seemingly one of the few people in the stadium who considered that the striker had fouled the goalkeeper first.

West Ham gained vengeance in the 51st minute. Manuel Da Costa launched a long diagonal free-kick into the box, Cole held off Michael Turner and nodded down to Ilan, who poked the ball past Gordon and into the net from seven yards.

Sunderland reacted well. The cutting move they pieced together in the 58th minute was the best of the match, Malbranque and Bent swapping passes before the latter laid the ball back to Cattermole, who arrived at speed but slammed wide from 14 yards.

Steve Bruce rejigged his team and introduced Kenwyne Jones in the 63rd minute and with his first touch the new arrival split the home defence and served a wonderful opportunity to Bent, who hardly embellished his England credentials by falling over as he wound up to shoot.

Green, by contrast, will hope Fabio Capello sees footage of his save in the 76th minute when he displayed rapid reflexes and strong wrists to beat away a free kick from Jordan Henderson, who had initially shaped to cross. In the dying minutes Bruce thrust another attacker, Benjani Mwaruwari, into the fray and switched to a two-men defence but West Ham held firm, and even thought they had enhanced their lead in the closing seconds when Guillermo Franco shot into the net from 12 yards but the referee – correctly – ruled that the striker had first controlled the ball with his arm.

Premier LeagueWest Ham UnitedSunderlandPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk

Today’s Mill has its head in the clouds

Some years ago research carried out by unlicensed Chinese neurologists on a sample group of 5,000 men with internet access and a large comic book collection that they keep in little plastic sleeves and occasionally brood over concluded that, when most people picture The Mill, the image that springs into their mind is either:

(a) a pleasantly shuttered, Flemish-style clapboard and oak-beamed structure on a slight incline, set against a cloudless sky in fine, rolling countryside which, pushing open its heavy front door, turns out to be operated entirely by very small, frightening pig-faced men; or

(b) an overheated strobe-lit basement down a narrow hidden staircase that smells overpoweringly of meat and where the door seems to vanish as soon as it slams shut behind you and a peculiar gurgling, thrashing, chugging noise is coming from inside a studded, leather-upholstered ante-room and something is suddenly moving in the corner of your eye before, all at once, everything goes dark.

Which is strange, because in the Mill’s own mind it is a beautiful place that exists in the sky, perhaps in the first-class section of a prestigious aeroplane. A place where a smiling teenage Brazilian is constantly going somewhere, perpetually excited, always linked, continually a whizz, a picture only partially clouded by the lingering stench of something that might be, and then might not be, Harry Redknapp’s distinctive gentleman’s cologne.

Which is, by coincidence, pretty much exactly what’s going on in this morning’s Daily Mirror. There’s a picture of the Internacional starlet Sandro Ranieri (which is Portuguese for “Sandra Redknapp”) preparing himself for his £6m summer move to Tottenham by reading an English dictionary.

“I need to be prepared for my new challenge in Europe,” he said, spending 20 minutes frowning over the word “aardvark”.

West Ham are planning a sensational triple swoop on Birmingham. Liam Ridgewell and Sebastian Larsson may be available on the cheap. Christian Benítez, who runs a lot and tries very hard but rarely scores goals, is available for £7m.

Roma are dead serious about signing the quivering Arsenal defensive diva William Gallas. Their sporting director Daniele Prade attempted to “thrash out” a deal after the victory over Porto.

Harry Redknapp is frantically trying to find a club in Belgium to loan his new Zambian left-back. Emmanuel Mbola has somehow signed for Spurs even though we’re not in the transfer window. “Spurs liked me a lot but there is contract confusion with my Armenian club and my agent,” Mbola shrugged yesterday, pretty much clearing all that up then. Celtic and Rangers both want Arsenal striker “Oh” Jay Simpson, currently on loan at QPR.

In the Daily Mail delicious pigs-ear-in-mushroom-pastry-parcel dish Wellington Silva is all set to sign for Arsenal, although Fluminense want to keep the 17-year-old, who has only just got into the first team, until 2012. Wellington has agreed a £3.5m move but can’t be registered until after his 18th birthday. “We are working on a way to make it happen,” emoted leg-warmered Fluminense vice-president Alcides Antunes, dancing on top of a car.

Chelsea have opened talks with Nicolas Anelka over paying him an extra £40,000 a year until 2013. Talks The Mill imagines will be over very quickly and simply involve him muttering the word “yes”. This means they have to get rid of increasingly peripheral ageing wing-jink prodigy Joe Cole.

In The Sun David Beckham “wore the green and gold” on his return to Old Trafford. “I did it as I’m a United fan, always will be,” he said, before stopping off in Hertfordshire and Essex on his way to the airport. Portsmouth have sacked 85 staff who have nothing to do with the club going bust. Peter Storrie is still being paid £10,000 a week.

And Sol Campbell, 49, is “chasing” an England recall, presumably very slowly in a pair of XXXL shorts, waggling his elbows about a lot before eventually falling over. “You never know. I might get a sniff if I keep on playing. Why not?” he asked, putting his hands over his ears and walking off before you can answer.

Surprisingly good American Landon Donovan will play his final game for Everton on Saturday. LA Galaxy’s manager, Bruce Arena, who either does everything in US football, or is one of several men also called “Bruce Arena”, said: “Landon will be back on March 15.” Just like that. Not March the 15th. “March 15.”

And on Goal.com The Houston Dynamo have signed Francisco Navas Cobo from the Dynamo Academy. A man called James Clarkson, who presumably has both long, girly hair and horrible baggy stone-washed jeans said: “To have a successful Academy, you need talent and opportunity. In Francisco Navas Cobo, we have talent, and through Dominic Kinnear’s vision and support of the Dynamo Academy, we’ve been able to provide opportunity to Francisco and the other young men in our development system.”

Which The Mill has now written on its hand and will be repeating like a personal mantra as it attempts to struggle tearfully through the rest of the day.

Tottenham HotspurHarry RedknappRomaArsenalBirmingham CityWest Ham UnitedChelseaBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk