Filed under: Sunderland, West Brom, Premier League, Football, Match Reports
Under-pressure Steve Bruce saw his Sunderland side fight back from a two-goal deficit given up inside the opening five minutes to earn a gutsy point at the Stadium of Light.Early efforts from James Morrison and Shane Long put West Brom in control, to spark cries of "Bruce out" from disgruntled home fans.
But the jeers soon turned to cheers with goals in the space of three minutes mid-way through the half as Nicklas Bendtner opened his account on loan from Arsenal, before a bullet header from Ahmed Elmohamady dragged the hosts level.
The second-half was never going to match the first for drama, as the sides settled for a share of the spoils to leave them each with a modest return of a single victory from their opening seven league games.
Lee Cattermole was fortunate to avoid a second yellow card for a horror challenge on Albion defender Steven Reid. The Sunderland skipper was hauled off for his own protection by Bruce soon afterwards.
THE GOALS
4 mins: Sunderland fail to deal with a routine free-kick into the box from Chris Brunt, and Morrison is left with a free header to glance the ball past a stranded Simon Mignolet (0-1).
5 mins: Long races on to a loose ball to easily hold off Michael Turner before slotting the ball past Mignolet (0-2).
23 mins: Bendtner opens his account on loan from Arsenal with a cool close-range finish after good work from Seb Larsson (1-2).
27 mins: Bendtner's inviting cross from the left is met be a towering header from Elmohamady from 10 yards (2-2).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
12 mins: Cries of "Bruce out" from home fans ring round the ground.
14 mins: Sunderland show their first signs of life as Bendtner forces a save from Ben Foster.
15 mins: They're soon on the back foot as Mignolet is forced to beat out a venomous long-range drive from Morrison.
20 mins: Larsson has the ball in the Albion net, but is a yard offside when he deflects home a Stephane Sessegnon shot.
35 mins: Foster saves well from Bendtner, who shoots on the turn from 25 yards.
37 mins: Jonas Olsson aims a far psot header wide from Brunt's corner when it looked easier to score.
48 mins: Wes Brown heads weakly wide when meeting Larsson's free-kick six yards out.
59 mins: Foster saves with his knee from Elmohamady after neat build-up play by Sessegnon.
65 mins: Cattermole lucky to escape a second yellow for a horrible challenge on Reid. The Sunderland skipper is hauled off by Bruce soon afterwards.
WHAT IT MEANS:
Sunderland's stirring fight-back buys Bruce a little more time but Roy Hodgson must wonder how his side let a comfortable two-goal lead slip to see them have to settle for a share of the spoils.
UP NEXT: ALL THE REACTION
SUNDERLAND 2 (Bendtner 23, Elmohamady 27) WEST BROM 2 (Morrison 4, Long 5)
PLAYER MARKING:
Sunderland (4-4-2): Mignolet 6; O'Shea 6, Turner 4, Brown 4, Richardson 5; Elmohamady 7 (Ji 82, 6), Cattermole 6 (Colback 70, 6) Gardner 6 (Meyler 90, 5), Larsson 7; Sessegnon 6, Bendtner 7.
Subs (not used): Westwood, McClean, Cook, Laing.
West Brom (4-4-2): Foster 6; Reid 5, McAuley 6, Olsson 6, Shorey 6; Brunt 7, Mulumbu 5 (Scharner 74, 6), Dorrans 6 (Thomas 88, 5), Morrison 7; Long 7, Odemwingie 4.
Subs (not used): Fulop, Jones, Tamas, Tchoyi, Cox.
REFEREE: Lee Mason
ATTENDANCE: 34,815
NEXT UP:
- Sunderland v Arsenal (away), Premier League, 16/10/11, 1330 BST
- West Brom v Wolves (home), Premier League, 16/10/11, 1200 BST
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Nicklas Bendtner (Sunderland): Opened his Sunderland account in fine style, and could have had more with a little more luck. Led the line superbly.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/10/01/sunderland-2-west-brom-2/
No comments:
Post a Comment