The Lads welcomed Cardiff to SR5 for our first 3 o'clock Saturday of the year (coincidentally also our 5,000th league game) and eventually came out on top after looking comfortable in a first half which we only drew and struggled in a second which we won. Funny old game, football - made hard work of that, basically.
Having had an extra day to smile about the win at Wednesday last Friday, much of the debate had been about how to start a game with both Issy and Elly in the side - given Le Gaffer's comments, though, that doesn't seem likely. I'd stayed in Sheffield after the match (buses back to the town didn't show, so it was a slightly slower journey on foot) so I could watch Bishop at Sheffield FC. My train to Dronfield was cancelled, maintaining Sheffield's poor public transport record, Greg Halford et al were poor, and they lost. Ah well, one out of two ain't bad.
No former Lads in the Welsh squad, but there was Ben Alnwick's young'un Jak and the shortest name in football - Ng. With the sun shining, we lined up:
Patterson
Hume O'Nien Mepham Hjelde
Neil (c) Bellingham
Roberts Browne Mundle
Mayenda
and a bench of Moore, Cirkin, Jones, Isidor, Rigg, Seelt, Aleksic, Anderson, and Watson.
..and we kicked off south, getting straight into the attack with Patto launching Neil's opener to Mundle who jinked into the box but ran out of space. No matter, a minute later Roberts intercepted a clearance and rolled it to Mayenda in the box and he turned to fire home. Only two minutes gone, and a goal up - that should be a nice cushion.
A Cardiff corner quickly followed, which we cleared and then produced some lovely delicate interplay to get us into a shooting position - but when that chance came we fired over. Still, looking positive, and Brownie found Mayenda who got it to Mundle and we were nearly in again. The second goal was what we were wanting, but despite some good stuff in the middle from Browne, Neil, and Bellingham we couldn't get it. A typical low Hume cross somehow evaded everyone, then a Mundle shot was deflected over the bar. We played the corner short but blasted the loose ball wide, then Rigg sprinted out to warm up as Roberts sat down. 22 gone and off went Paddy and in came Rigg - too many minutes for the obvious swap of Tommy Watson? Probably.
Cardiff eventually got a shot away in 28, which flew wide, and we quickly got it to Mundle, who was proving a real problem for the visitors with his direct running, and he won us another corner that was cleared. Back to the north end it went with a Cardiff corner, and we got that away to Mundle again for him to run 60 yards only to see his shot saved. That elusive second, man!
In typical Sunderland style, Cardiff launched in a cross from their left, Patto couldn't get to it, and when it dropped beyond the far post it was walloped in. Their first shot on target and a cue for the anti- Patto folks to let their feelings be known, and in the remaining four minutes, plus three, Mayenda fired into the side netting as the body language if a few players left a bit to be desired. Still, our number of shots should have seen us well ahead but we went into the break only level.
After Marco and their Ricardo did the draw, the same eleven came out, as we've come to expect - and we started the second half as we'd ended the first - slowly. It tta good five or six minutes to build anything of note, then Mundle broke out of defence and found Mayenda way out left but when the low cross eventually came in, it found its way to Hume (I think )whose shot was saved comfortably. We were still struggling to impose ourselves on things when the Bluebirds hit the inside of Patto's left hand post and we gratefully hoofed it clear.
We then had a wee bright period that ended when Hjelde was booked for upending and opponent and was immediately swapped for Cirkin. To be fair, I think the change was already planned even if it was only the 51st minute, and Isidor was also on for Browne. Two up top - let's go for it.
For some reason the gulls were up in flight, but with no peregrine in sight there was also a flock of pigeons feeding around Hume's part of the field. The ref, after a decent first 45, began to suffer the effects of his halftime spliff with a series of mad decisions. Issy offside? No. Ball near the corner flag when Mundle hit his free off the wall - drop ball the the keeper.
On came Tommy Watson for Mundle for the final fifteen, and we won another free for a clear dunsh on Neil 30 yards out - it was eventually played low to Issy, who hit it across the box and Mepham was at the front of the queue to stab home the winner.
That got us back to life and we played out the remaining minutes with a combination of attacks and defensive stuff, with Luke keeping things calm. We passed up two or three shouting chances in one attack before Watson fired over. Another three added minutes were announced which we saw out and it was massive relief at the final whistle.
It's three points, and that's the main thing.
Man of the Match? Mundle was the most lively in the first half, Luke kept things (mostly) safe at the back, but for me Mayenda gets my vote - always pest and kept it up for 90+ minutes.
