Sunderland are a good side. They build quickly from the back, Dwight Yorke dictates the game and almost every man is capable of passing the ball quickly and accurately. In the 15 minutes before half time, they drove forward at pace and looked like a really excellent side, while causing us numerous problems. Outside of that though, we managed to subdue them and defended well enough to nullify the threat. They were dangerous from set plays. The first goal came from a right wing free-kick and but for Boaz and some wayward heading, they might've scored another 2 or 3 from dead balls. They created a few chances with incisive balls through our defence, but Connolly, in particular was wasteful.
We created nothing. It was another day where the ball went from back to front quickly, too quickly, and with little accuracy and as a consequence all we achieved was returning the ball to Sunderland time after time. The wind was wicked inside the stadium so high balls up to Elliott were like a lottery and he didn't win a lot. Deano had a quick free-kick saved, Forster looped a header over and we had a weak shot saved. That aside, Vaz Te put in two great crosses in quick succession, with no-one anywhere close to getting on the end of them, and that was our creative lot. We had several promising dead ball scenarios, but aside from the Forster header, every one that beat the first man arrowed into Darren Ward's hands.
Forster and Elliott were very subdued. If Elliott isn't winning the ball in the air, he's a passenger. He didn't do a defensive job and he achieved nothing all afternoon. Forster was strangely quiet, he didn't harry and hassle like he can and he didn't get on the ball in wide areas or make any darting runs into the middle. Deano tried but got little joy out of Nosworthy or the referee and spent his time whining and beating the floor in frustration. While the service was very poor, the three didn't look as lively as they normally do and didn't do enough to try and force chances out of nothing. Sunderland were able to move the ball into the back 4 quickly and they were allowed to pick passes, normally into Yorke. Yorke did a job very similar to Idiakez of Derby last season at the KC.
The midfield 3 didn't really work either. They relished the physical battle and outfought Preston last week, but today they faced a much slicker opposition and we looked very pedestrian. Ash, Livermore and Parlour lack any real mobility and it shows up against top midfielders. They all worked hard, but very rarely got in a position to deliver a pass or move from midfield. That improved in the last 10 minutes when Marney arrived. He looked more likely to cause a problem with his running from the middle. This performance shows up why Browny felt Welsh was worth a starting place and why he's replaced him with Lee Peltier. The movement up front and from full-back wasn't great. Parlour was often left spinning on the ball, looking for a pass.
We looked pretty sound defensively against a constant threat. Delaney was poor, but the rest were more than adequate. Ash protected pretty well and Boaz directed from behind. He was quick off his line and appeared to make decisions quickly and stick to them. He made a world class save, coped well with the strong wind and kicked well under pressure. That all made the second goal, a result of his horrendous mis-kick, all the more disappointing. He seemed under little pressure when he slashed at a kick, sliced it to Stern John and he waltzed in to score. In the grand scheme of things, it probably didn't matter and Bo has big enough shoulders to carry the can and come back better than ever. Ricketts and Dawson did just about enough. They were skinned at times and stood up well at others. Dawson is a cool customer; he's getting better and better this season. Ricketts hasn't managed two good performances back to back. He worries me. For someone of his stature, he's disappointing in the air. He also dives in sometimes, when a good full-back would stay on his feet and make the attacker work hard. On the flip side, Turner was superb. Delaney, who misjudged the flight of the ball a few times, passed poorly and played risky back-passes. Needs to buy Mikey a pint. He was excellent; he was strong, unbeatable in the air, tackled well and made the correct decision on the ball on almost every occasion.
The subs didn't have a lot of effect. Barmby played in midfield for 20 mins or so and didn't get on the ball. Vaz Te has bags of pace and skill, but didn't get to use it in the right areas enough. I'd like to see him start next time; Elliott hasn't done enough to keep him out.
It was interesting to read that Mr. Bates, the ref, was in charge of our game at Bolton, the tennis ball protest event. I thought he was reffing his first game today. Actually, I thought the real ref had got stuck in traffic and they'd dragged someone in off the street.
Not a bad day; apart from QPR's win, things went our way. With 2 home games next, we're in pole position. We look OK. We've settled at the back in the last few games. I'm sure PB will be working on defending set pieces during our down time, but apart from that, we look strong at the back and we have good options up front. The gaffer picked the right team today and put on the right subs too. There wasn't a lot more he could do when a few looked out of sorts.
Once the dim-witted plod had let us leave the ground, we walked past a brass monkey. He was wearing 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants and 4 jumpers. Cold? Too bloody right it was.
Ratings: Bo 7, Ricketts 6, Dawson 6, Delaney 5, Turner 8, Asbee 7, Livermore 6 (Barmby), Parlour 6, Elliott 5 (Vaz Te), Forster 5 (Marney), Windass 6.