SOBS ON RENNES

On the 29th anniversary of the SoL's first competitive game (3-1 win over Man City, in case you'd forgotten), the Lads came from a goal down to beat a decent Rennes side and end our pre-season in happy fashion. Second half strikes from Brobbey and Hume cancelled out a pretty dubious penalty awarded late in the first. No Alderete and Mukiele (which we knew about) or Meunier (which we didn’t) but plenty to watch in a pretty entertaining game.

Pre-match, the sunny city was full of happy, smiley folks in Sunderland shirts  - stripes, pinks -  and those new blue ones, man. Just wow, and there was a fair smattering of Spidey masks as I dished out some flyers for Sunday nights WTF Podcast extravaganza at the Fire Station featuring Aiden McGeady (our Ian told me to include that as he's onstage again. Get yerselves along).

Roefs

Hume Ballard O'Nien Reinildo 

Xhaka(c) Sadiki Le Fee

Talbi Brobbey Angulo

...and a bench of Ellborg, Jenson Jones, Seelt, Isidor, Rigg, Browne, Tutierov, Mundle, Jocelin, and Diarra.

With the opposition confusingly in pink, we lined up in the stripes and faced north as the tunes blasted out – Wise Men Say gets me every time. Rennes kicked off.

In the early minutes of the teams sounding each other out, we went a bit far in our inclusion of the keeper in the passing, and Roefs had to produce some footwork close to his own line that any of our wingers would have been proud of. Not my idea of a good idea, mind! We also noticed that they were playing a number 90 and a number 95, and I don’t think that even in the heady days of Man City U21s in the EFL Trophy a few years back we ever faced such high squad numbers. A bit of decent play on the quarter hour won us a corner on the right which Xhaka slung in, but the keeper collected comfortably under the bar near the back post. He got shot of it quickly, Rennes broke, and won a corner on their left which we defended fairly comfortably.

After several "nearly but not quite" moments for us in the inside forward position and likewise out wide for them that filled up the following fifteen minutes, the ball dropped just inside the box, a visiting player fell to the ground and Ballard was adjudged to have clipped him. Hmm, not sure about that – definitely one for VAR in a league game. Anyhow, Roefs got a hand to the penalty but it was a proper blammer (isn’t this supposed to be a friendly?) and went up and in. Bah.

A couple of minutes later we had another corner on the right, which Xhaka again slung to the back, and there were shouts for foul on Dan as he was bundled about, but he got up and forced a save, high at the keeper's right-hand post. Soon after, he went close again with a flicked header on a cross from the left. There was then a bit of a bizarre moment when a free kick was awarded to the visitors just in our half, with the linesman indicating offside against Brobbey. At least that’s what it looked like.

With five to go we put together a nice move at speed that went from right to left, and the cross won us another corner. No added time, ‘cos it’s a friendly, so it was bang on 45 when the half ended with us a little unfortunate to go in a goal behind, especially when the opposition’s only two efforts on target had been the penalty and a moderate shot straight at Roefs. Mind, we hadn’t exactly been peppering their goal with shots.

There were no changes for the second half, which indicated that we were treating this one as more than an opportunity to see what the whole squad is about. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a keeper pass the straight out for a corner, but that’s what happened early on as we upped the liveliness staked and put the pressure on. Rennes responded with a continuation of the manhandling of Brobbey, which brought us a number of free kicks.

After breaking up a Rennes attack, we found Luke on the right and he galloped down up the field and crossed for Reinildo to arrive at the front post and knock it just wide. Two questions – how did he not score, and why on earth was he there?

There were lots of niggly fouls by the French and a few strange decisions by the ref, but we were looking threatening. Bang on the hour, and with the subs lining up, we knocked on over the visiting defence from deep in our own half, with BB latching onto a weak header to charge goalwards. The keeper knocked away his attempted lob from the edge, the ball landing at the feet of a defender. Brian simple barged the man off the ball and planted it into the net with his left peg. Deserved, and it probably delayed his replacement.

On came Rigg, Diarra, Mundle and off went Talbi, Angulo, and Sadiki with Rigg going right and Romaine left. Strangely, our fullbacks swapped sides for a few minutes. 

On 69 minutes a free, for another foul on BB, was only partially cleared and when it fell to Hume he swept it in from near the edge of the box. Again, deserved and a signal to those fans who don’t like him anywhere but in defence. BB's last contribution was a blast from distance, encouraged by us fans, that nearly cleaned out the police control room. On came Isidor to add his pace to our attack. Some marvellous twinkling feet on the left by Enzo set up Issy but, leaning back, the shot from the spot went over. His pace won us another corner straight afterwards but Enzo steadfastly refused to apply to magic kiss. Go on man, make it magic!

A cross from the right found Dan's head but it was saved, then another found Reinildo's head and there was another save, another corner. Mundle wriggled in from the right along the edge of the box but shot back across and just wide on 78. 

With ten to go, Mayenda came on to a standing ovation and a belting rendition of his song – I wonder if the French will use it?. Two minutes later Enzo was replaced by Jocelin, who soon set up Issy to hit the post from an impossible angle (right on the line) as the keeper tried to let it run past him. There was a yellow for a pull on Reinildo as he ran for Mundle's return pass - they seem to have a good understanding. Mundle took it and his curler fairly smacked off the bar. One added was announced despite there having been all those subs, but hey – it’s a friendly.

A pretty satisfactory friendly, as it turned out. You could see what really good players Le Fee, Ballard, and Reinildo are against decent opposition and Brobbey – just a handful in any language and on any stage.

Man of the Match? Enzo – for one so slight, he’s virtually impossible to knock off the ball thanks to him leaning at 45 degrees towards his opponent and his apparent ability to twist and shimmy in several directions at the same time.