Preston Report

As pivotal a time as the Christmas period is, it’s not defining. However with the league as close as it is, picking up more points than you lose will obviously hold you in good stead. So sadly todays defeat knocks back our hopes, temporarily at least, of breaking into that top 6 soon. It makes Mondays game at Leicester a fairly big one too.

Today was always going to be a tough game, as hard as we’ve had since probably Cardiff at home a couple of months back. Preston are one of the better teams in the league and while much of this league is very similar, there are a couple of teams (Birmingham and Derby too) who are maybe just a step above. However our home form has been very good so there was certainly hope.

For a change we started very brightly. Again with 1 up front but Murphy starting on the right this time, where he’d finished the game on Tuesday and Wallace starting left. Miller and Leadbitter were dominating midfield and the tempo was quick and the ball was passed around sharply, which makes all the difference. Connolly was leading the line well and had a couple of efforts but nothing too close.

Then perhaps the pivotal moment of the match came. Caldwell had to go off with an injury and Nyatanga came on. Slot straight in he will, everyone thought. But as he jogged past Nosworthy (who’d started left back today) and went to his position with Nosworthy moving alongside Varga there was a noticeable grumble around the ground. Why couldn’t he just go to centre back?

The jury is still out on Nyatanga, it seems the management like him but he looks shaky in possession, is poor going forward and his passing belies the fact he’s a professional footballer. So, it seemed strange that he’d be made to go left back again, instead of play his more normal position. Perhaps Keane isn’t so sure of him after all and isn’t confident enough to put him in the middle?

After that disruption our early impetus faded and Preston came into he game more. Then on 36 minutes, a move initially started with Nyatanga giving the ball away, Ormerod got down the left ahead of the defence. Ward came out to meet him but his lobbed cross was met by Nugent with a tap in header.

It was a lead they didn’t deserve but it was clinical and maybe shows why they are at the top of the league. From then on the pattern of the game was largely Sunderland pressing and Preston sitting on their lead which they did fairly comfortably, certainly until half time.

Second half and the introduction of Elliott saw more come from the right, Murphy initially moving up front with Connolly before going back left again. There was plenty of effort and bluster and lots of play into the box but it was just met with a melee of defenders and always frustratingly broke down. Their keeper had little to do but field long range shots.

Chris Brown, another substitute, probably had the 2 best half-chances but put them both over the bar. Preston knew exactly how to win this game, get the early goal, waste time, break the game up and sit on their lead. We didn’t know how to get back into it, though we were probably unlucky not to get a draw.

So, with Mondays game awaiting, it’s important that we get something from that. Otherwise it will have been a poor period and we’ll probably have lost ground on those around us. With a cup game coming up, again against Preston, and the transfer window opening; January could turn out to be the pivotal period in this season for Sunderland.

Man of the match – Liam Miller

Report by marcopaul

Rockins rant

After the festive crowd we were back down to the usual attendance. Despite having less numbers than against Leeds today’s atmosphere was possibly the best we’ve had all season, it’s just a shame the players performance didn’t match that of the fans. To no-ones surprise Roy Keane changed his team from that which had defeated Leeds only four days previous. Nosworthy came in for Nyatanga and Ross Wallace replaced Stephen Elliott.

The first half started quite brightly for the lads and despite not really dominating the game, we slightly edged Preston as the better team. We had most of the ball, yet as we’ve done in other weeks, we never made any clear cut opportunities. Mid way through the first half Caldwell went off with an injury. As we’d expect Keane brought Nyatanga on for Caldwell, though the shock to everyone in the stadium was that Nyatanga went to left back and Nosworthy went into centre half.

The shocking thing was that Nyatanga is supposed to be a central defender yet for some reason Keane thought it best to play our right back in that position. Though it didn’t make that much difference to Nosworthy’s game, he was still as poor as ever and how he plays professional football is beyond belief.

From this point on, we seemed to lose any urgency we had earlier in the first half and all features of our game became very poor. Preston’s goal, which was definitely undeserved, was an absolutely atrocious goal to have given away. Ward raced off his line to attempt to block Ormerod’s cross which went straight over him and landed on Nugents head to comfortably tap home. It sounds like a simple goal however, Nugent - who was sandwiched in between our two centre halves- somehow managed to beat them both in the air and knock the ball home. The first half fizzled out with no real creativity coming from either team.

The second half wasn’t much better than the first. Again we had lots of the ball, but not because we were playing better than Preston. Once the second half started Preston simply sat back and invited the pressure onto them, which they dealt with comfortably. Preston’s goalkeeper may as well have just sat on the bench for the whole game because he never had to make a save. Preston out battled us all over the park and when they ventured forward Nugent always looked dangerous, something that we are lacking.

What was surprising to see when our team was getting beat was that on two occasions when the ball ended up in the North Stand the fans decided to keep the ball and waste our time. Fair enough if we were winning it wouldn’t really bother me and many others if they did this. However, when you’re losing you don’t keep the ball and it is purely idiotic of these so called ‘fans’ to have done this.

Preston didn’t deserve to have won the match and a point would have been a fair reflection on the match. The difference between the two teams, other than the obvious goal, was that Preston were better organised in all parts of the field and we’re definitely lacking in organisation.

MOTM – Two names this time. David Connolly and Liam Miller, both players worked hard for the team and covered every blade of grass and received no rewards for their hard work.

Wiggum's Whinge

So the year ends on a low as we suffer a defeat to an average, but well structured Preston team. It has been a frustrating season to say the least and the inconsistencies of our season are mirrored by certain individual’s performances. We have again lost ground on the play off spots and are positioned in the league where we deserve to be, mid-table.

Keane once again fiddled around with the squad, and although it is a hectic period over the Christmas period, some of his choices for selection do tend to beggar belief. With Nyron starting left back the defence looked shaky all afternoon and this was highlighted more when Caldwell was replaced by Nyatanga, who simply looked shocking. His overall defensive play was poor, and you always get the people saying "well he is a centre back, give him a break" etc..... but any defender should know how to pass a ball and give the goalkeeper something to trust in front of him, Lewin simply isn't that player.

Kavanagh was on the bench after being declared fit on SSN, he was rested maybe for the Leicester game in a few days time. Making his debut in the new series of "Lost" was Dwight Yorke and the title of this programme was exactly what he was today, LOST. His commitment and effort has to be questioned, if only his tackling was as good as his vision we may have seen a good performance, but he simply does not look bothered in a red and white top.

Preston who fielded a rather defensive line up as predicted by most, had the first opening chance with the impressive Nugent coming in from the right to fire just over the bar. Nugent's pace against the tank, that is Varga, was always going to be a worry and does show to have potential when on the ball. This is something that Sunderland is crying out for, a goal scorer, and with Stokes bagging a 1st half hat-trick at Falkirk, maybe Keane should go for this young talent. Anything has to be better than relying on Chris Brown as a last ditch attempt to get a goal near the end of games.

Sunderland's best spell of the game, football wise was in the opening quarter of an hour with Nyron making a few good runs down the left but kept the theme going of no end product. The amount of times that Sunderland waste possession and corners due to poor deliveries is beginning to get worrying, we get corners but they never trouble any of the opposition we face lately, why?

Sunderland overall created the best chances in the half with a neat turn from Connelly and low shot saved by Nash. Another chance created by Connelly seen him beat the defenders to pull the ball back for Yorke, who if he put a little or any effort in could maybe have slotted it home before the tackle came in to clear. We looked good going forward at times but the inevitable shaky defence was shown as Nugent grabbed a goal before half time. The one through ball beat the static defence as Ward came rushing out, Ormerod left an open goal tap in for the Premiership target to pounce on.

The first half showed no true quality or depth in the starting eleven, and the major signing that Keane has to focus on in the next month, is pace, and plenty of it please!

The second half saw Elliott, who was a surprise omission, comes on for the useless Yorke. This injected a bit of pace down the flanks and chance after chance went begging as Wallace had a snapshot over the bar and Connelly heading just wide from a cross. The second half was all Sunderland, with the occasional Preston counter which never proved costly. The annoying thing about this game is what has been brewing over the last few games, chances not being turned into goals. The sooner we get an out and out striker the more chance we have of climbing the league and maintaining a good league spot.

When "Porn-Star" Brown came on for the again quiet Wallace it turned into desperate football at times, with neither Varga or Nyatanga being able to keep the ball on the ground and hoofing pointless balls to Connelly and creating little.

The best chance of the second half fell to Brown who tried to do too much as he acrobatically smashed over the bar. But the story of the game was how much possession we created but never managed to get the killer cross or pass into the strikers.

Thankfully January is around the corner and we will see more players and more speed invested into the squad, because sadly to say at the moment, this team will not reach the next level of this league unless we keep a winning team and formation and get players in their preferred positions.

Clancey_Wiggum aka Gary Johnson

MOM - Liam Miller - wanted the ball and used it much better than any other player.