I’ve always been very anti West Midlands, so before I get too negative, I thought I’d explain myself. Well it’s the armpit of Britain isn’t it? It’s miles from any decent scenery, or coast line, or even a nice piece of grass that isn’t covered in dog crap. On top of that, the people talk very strangely and we hardly ever seem to win there. Enough said.

To be fair Villa Park isn’t as bad as Birmingham City’s St Andrews, where you can’t even get a pint without being murdered by Zulus and the buses pull straight into a cordoned off away end, ala Millwall. Although the pubs are so grim around Villa that you wonder who on earth goes there when there’s not a match on!

A couple of season ago, when we beat them 1-0 and Chopra scored, we were in the away pub beforehand and you had to pay £2 to just get in and £3 for a drink in the beer garden (so a fiver for your first pint). Well they called it a beer garden, but it had no grass, or anything that looks like a garden in Sunderland. To celebrate our fantastic support and drunkenness we played ‘Hoy the bottle against the wall and smash loads of glass until the police arrive’ and people were openly selling ecstasy in the bogs. Let’s just say it was an interesting day of inner city urban decay.

Upon arrival at Villa Park I headed for the very same boozer, I’m a glutton for punishment you see, but our poor away following, due to rearranged midweek fixture madness, meant the pub wasn’t quite as bouncing as it was last time. I guess in some ways this was a good thing. However, drink was there to be drunk and so it was and the team news filtered through as we finished our last pint. Cattermole was a starter tonight, a straight swap for Meyler whilst Benjani, who struggled against Birmingham, made way for Jordan Henderson to slot into the centre of a five man midfield to make it a 4-5-1.

Craig Gordon, being in his best form since joining Sunderland is surely no coincidence with the upturn in results. Countless top draw saves against Man City and Birmingham earned us points and he can look back on tonight satisfied that his wages were well earned once again. Within a few minutes a shot was deflected off John Carew’s nut, but Gordon was equal to it with a superb reaction save while going the wrong way. A frantic opening ten minutes saw plenty of goalmouth action at both ends and it looked as though we were looking at a goal fest similar to Man City away.

We thought we were 1-0 up early on when Bent was played in on the left hand side and did what he does best and finished clinically, beating Brad Friedel at his near post. The linesman decided to cut short our celebrations flagging for offside. From the other end of the ground it was hard to tell, but it must have been very close. Villa put a bit pressure on and always looked as if they had a goal in them, providing they could beat Gordon, but Bent was busy upfront and Campbell was always happy to join in.

It’s a commonly used saying that certain footballers are “confidence players”. Put Fraizer Campbell firmly in that category. Goals against Bolton and Birmingham and he looks a different prospect from the lad who looked a bit lost earlier on in the season. So when Richardson played Campbell in behind the Villa defence with a cracking ball and the young’un clipped the ball over Friedel with a top class finish I was not surprised. It was the type of finish that has commentators licking the bum holes of Rooney and Torres, three goals in four from Fraizer, it’s nice to see someone else chipping in and taking the weight off Darren Bent a bit.

Richardson’s assist was the highlight of one of his best performances of the season, always wanting the ball and covering ever blade of grass for the team. We’ve all seen what he can do, he just doesn’t do it consistently enough, and he now has his chance to kick on for the rest of the season. The praise for Richardson is in stark contrast to the performance from Lee Cattermole. He was lucky not to be booked very early on for a late and overzealous tackle and he misplaced what felt like every pass he attempted. You could see his frustration creeping in which didn’t help his performance. In his defence, he can’t be anywhere near match fit after being injured for so much of the season, maybe the target for him should be to play out the remaining games and come back in pre season fully fit. No doubt he’ll be an important player next year.

The Lads only held the lead for only eight minutes. Ashley Young was given too much time and space from Ferdinand on Villa’s left and he hoyed in a dangerous ball which was met by Carew at the back post. The game settled down until half time, apart Collins missing a sitter at the back post.

The second half was always going to see Villa pushing on more. A point was no good to them in their hunt for fourth spot, whilst a draw away for us would be fine. Bent worked tirelessly up top, chasing down a lost cause and dispossessing Friedel as he was trying to Shepard the ball out for a goal kick. Unfortunately nobody expected him to go for it, never mind win it and as he hooked the ball across the six yard box the nearest Sunderland player was 25 yards away. The only other chance of note was Richard Dunne trying to dribble the ball out of defence and getting caught. The ball broke to Bent who cut inside ala Birmingham but could only get a toe on it and it was pushed wide for a corner. Up the other end Gordon turned a John Carew shot around the post when it seemed a certain goal. Describing Sunderland playing football and using the term “world class” isn’t often heard, but Gordon had another world class save to add to his portfolio which has dramatically increased in the last few weeks.

The remainder of the game was spent with the Villa fans frustrated they couldn’t make the break through, Martin O’Neil frustrated they couldn’t make the breakthrough and the Villa players watching their Champions League spot move further away. Malbranque was replaced with Cana for the last ten minutes, while Mensah went off, looking as if he’d felt his hamstring after making a tackle. Paulo Da Silva came on to make his first appearance for a good while, nice to see him back. Whist Villa did make a push for it, there was never really the massive pressure expected and we looked quite comfortable.

So, another point, another good point from a good side away from home. We’ve went from a side that hadn’t won in 15, to one that has lost only once in nine. The confidence is back and we’re deservedly taking points from the league’s better sides in their own back yard. Liverpool away would usually be written off before the first ball is kicked, but there’ll be plenty of us at Anfield on Sunday who think we can get something.

Final Score: 1-1

ALS Man of the Match: Kieran Richardson. Worked tirelessly and showed a bit of class on the ball. Quality pass for our goal. You’ve set your own standards Rico, keep it up.

John Martyn

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