What is it about Michael Chopra? He did nothing at Newcastle apart from score against us, he’s had a good start to the season and suddenly he’s trying to make himself more hated on Wearside than Alan Shearer. In the last couple of weeks, at every opportunity we’ve heard how he could never play for Sunderland, how he’d love to score against us etc etc. And while he’s got a long way to go before he has his own song about a special hat he wears, it was inevitable he’d score tonight. And maybe inevitable he’d win the game.
To be fair he played well but the space our defence gave him in the first half was criminal. This was the first real test for Sunderland this season. Against top of the league, coming off the back of 2 straight wins it was going to be a good yard-stick to measure how well we are doing and if we have a chance of doing something this year.
It will have been obvious what the team talk will have been before the game. Match them for effort, don’t let them pass it around and stick tight to Chopra in the box as he’ll put anything away if you’re loose. 4 minutes in, a cross into the box found the leagues top scorer in 5 yards of space, 0-1.
Sunderland couldn’t get hold of the ball and Cardiff looked like a side who deserved to be top of the league. However 5 minutes later with their first attack of the game Hysen swung in a cross from the left and a Chris Brown header found the net for the equalizer. We were fortunate to be level really so it was time to start again.
However Cardiff are pretty good. The best side to play Sunderland this season I’d say and got back in the game. We couldn’t get any decent possession and when we did we either gave it away or lumped a long ball up front which quickly came straight back.
Then after the half-hour, after a dubiously awarded free-kick, another ball from their right found Chopra who got ahead of Collins and they were back in the lead again, it was a good ball and good finish but too easy. Plenty of bluster and effort followed but we never looked like scoring again before half time.
2nd half wasn’t much better, we saw plenty of the ball and played most of the rest of the game in Cardiff’s half but barring a few scrambles from late corners they never looked in danger. Kavanagh and Elliott made welcome returns to the side with 2nd half appearances but never influenced the game.
Its easy to see why Cardiff are top of the league and I, despite their lowly status, think they’ll stay there. Primarily because the rest of the league, barring maybe Preston is very much of the same standard.
Sunderland have to keep on picking up wins where they can, keep in touch at January and hope Keane has a few of his own players lined up to bring in then. True, he keeps swapping the team round a lot, but it’s fair to say that some of these players are just not good enough and while they’re in the team we’ll do nothing.
Man of the match – Dwight Yorke
Report by marcopaul
