The match was played on the 11th day of the 11th month and the minute silence was impeccably observed by the low attendance of 25k at the Stadium of Light. When the referee blew his whistle it allows the crowd and players doing the silence to be able to speak and discuss topics with each other without getting the evil glare from people who don’t respect the silence. What the Sunderland players need to start doing is stop being silent and talk to each other on the pitch. This was the main worry for me again, we have the players and the manager to at least perform at home against Southampton but the lack of communication is there for all to see.
The team started with a few changes and gladly Ross Wallace was fitted back into the team who had an excellent game and will have a bright future at SAFC – it is the other players who need to look at themselves and think “why are we in this position?”
Another player who was dropped, maybe for injury was Alnwick (remember him?) which is maybe a hint that Keano does not take to him as much as Quinn or even McCarthy did when he played for us. The plus side to this argument has to be the great performance from Darren Ward who single handily kept us in the game and luckily (sad to say) earned us a point against the Saints.
Another keeper in the headlines, mostly for his “butterfingers” as the SWC referred to him as was Kalamity Kelvin between the sticks for the opposition who received a mixed reaction at the beginning. This soon turned into the one and only thing the Sunderland fans cheered about every time he went near to the ball…. sad to say but also true. Super Kev received the same type of reception but at least he deserved it for the countless goals and effort he put in for the club, Kelvin on the other hand was simply awful from his arrival to eagerly anticipated departure.
The game was largely dominated by Sunderland and a few early wild chances from Southampton got the game flowing in our favour, with an excellent interception from Caldwell and great work from Wallace on his favoured wing. This lad has real talent and looks a threat on the ball with great incisive passes into feet which was sorely missed from Yorke and Kav this afternoon.
The first half possession was all Sunderland but all the main chances fell to Southampton and mostly coming from down their left side. There was one occasion when they were attacking and the right back also known as Nos was just waddling back from their box completely out of position and gifting them a cross which was just headed wide from their lacklustre striker. I do think Nos is awful and hopefully most of you will agree but he turned in a much improved performance in the 2nd half…. can we keep him in the team with his half in half out attitude though? Something Keano again needs to revise and consider for when January arrives. The fact that in the second half when Nos was gifted an opportunity and I stood up in anticipation just shows how desperate we are for anyone to make a contribution upfront….. Needless to say the chance was not converted!
Ward kept us in it time after time with good low saves and collecting crosses whenever the ball was flighted near him, this is something we have missed seeing since the days of Mhyre and Poom and is surely a good sign for the future.
Kavanagh who I think may have been subbed due to a collision mid 2nd half did not look like the player who tore the Leeds midfield apart, he looked lazy and with stray passes every so often it made you think if him and Yorke are the dream midfield partnership? Another player who I have taken a like to is David Connelly but again he looks like one of those “he tried his best but just can’t score” type players…. which again is not good enough for our climb out of this league position. How many times can he pretend to step over/dummy the ball and no-one know he was actually planning this before he does it. I have seen it too many times now.
Finally after the possession was made a free kick was awarded on the edge of the box and up stepped young Rossy Wallace. The free-kick was Arca-esque and curled straight into the bottom corner sending the Sunderland fans into joy. This time the shirt of the left winger stayed on but still done his now famous “COME ON” cry to the SWC. Overall the goal game at a crucial time but as always Sunderland decided to make the game as difficult as possible in the last 25mins.
Brown came on to replace the hard-working (again) Murphy to keep possession upfront and create more chances. This would of happened if it was not Brown who came on, who I am now sick of the sight of seeing, he is just not a striker who can score or create and if he wasn’t logged onto Myspace.com until half one (yes I seen you) he may not of appeared so tired and lacking any creativity.
The last quarter of the game was completely dominated by the yellows and they forced a World-class stop from Ward who somehow tipped a glancing header onto the frame only for Caldwell to boot clear. This was a magnificent save and up there with Perez’s against Sheff U in play-offs and Alnwicks against Leicester to grant us promotion 2 season ago.
But as usual the “Sunderland Syndrome” was in full force in the bitter cold and allowed the travelling team as many chances as possible and throw in a few corners just to make us worry. When the equaliser finally came it was a deflected goal from the youngster Bale and they did deserve it as the pressure was relentless in the last few moments.
So another game another disappointment, we are not seeing much improvement from the boys but the old phrase goes “You cannot polish turd” could not be more accurate. 2 points lost – 4 points off relegation but only 6 points from Play-Offs – where else but the championship eh?
MOM = Darren Ward
Clancey Wiggum AKA Gary Johnson