After the much improved showing at Hull, which would have surely brought three points had it not been for one individual, we had a chance to get back to winning ways with the visit of Accrington, and, despite scoring three times, failed to do that. In a game that was as open as a broken door, we raced into an early two-goal lead through Big Charlie’s double, held that until half time. At the break, we could have been forgiven for wondering just how many goals we’d score, but the second period was simply 50 minutes of defensive ineptitude as we allowed Accy to level thanks to some woeful marking and a comical own goal. We then did well to regain the lead, only to concede immediately afterwards direct from a daft free kick, and, despite hoying everything but the kitchen sink at the visitors in the dying minutes, looked as likely to concede as score. 3-3 it ended.
Much of the talk since Tuesday night had been about the return to full match status of Denver Hume, whose hometown I’ve been holidaying in since Wednesday – hence watching the match to the sound track of breaking waves and the arrival of seven emergency services personnel to deal with someone in “a bit of a state” (copyright our Ian, master of the understatement) on the rocks below the caravan. We’ve acknowledged that the playoffs are our only realistic route out of division three, so we had to make sure our efforts are concentrated on achieving that. Around ten past two, our Ian announced the inclusion of young Denver in the starting eleven, which brought a smile to my face as I made my phone a personal hotspot and hard-wired it to the slightly larger screen of my laptop. Needless to say, that didn’t work, and it was phone time.
Burge
Power © Wright O’Nien Hume
Scowen Winchester
Gooch Wyke O’Brien McGeady
...and a bench of Matthews, Maguire, Diamond, Leadbitter, McFadzean, Jones, and Stewart. While we did well enough on Tuesday without him, McGeady’s return brings the spark and the bit of something that only he can provide. Jones and Diamond had the pace off the bench, while Maguire the guile. I think I’ve said that before, mind. To celebrate twenty years of SAFC’s Foundation of Light charity arm, we wore a one-off shirt bearing the charity’s logo, and we had the following conundrum to consider…if Portsmouth lose and we win, we’re assured of a playoff place. If Portsmouth win, Bristol Rovers (and Joey Barton) are relegated. Hmmm… adds an extra bit of interest, I suppose. Not that we needed it.
As usual we set up to attack the Roker End, but Accy won the toss and made us change ends – the buggers, but at least we got to kick off. We went straight on the offensive, with a Geads cross winning us a corner on 54 seconds. This produced another corner on left, and when it came out we had to win it back to attack. An ambitious chip (or wayward cross) from Wyke on the right was close to getting the opening goal, but it was the visitors who nearly opened the scoring, but there was a save low to his left from Burge to prevent that. Wyke then nearly to O’Brien’s cross from left, then Gooch worked well to beat his man on the right. When he crossed, it was beautifully onto Wyke’s head and from there was only one place it was going to go – back across and in. Six minutes in, and we were deservedly ahead.
We kept up our positive mindset in the minutes that followed, and after four of them, Geads crossed from the left. When it dropped at the near post, there was yet another Wyke first-time goal, getting his toe to it first to poke it past the keeper for goal number thirty (that’s 30) of the season.
The ref appeared to get a whack on the head, and as O’Brien was holding his face as well, I can only assume they’d banged heads – at least they both saw the funny side as treatment was dispensed. Replays showed the ref had backpedalled into our man, and therefore he should have booked himself. Accy then went close with a dipping volley just beyond Burge’s right hand pos, but we were next to attack, with Gooch getting it to Geads on the right, only for the cross to be headed away by Nottingham.
O’Brien ran onto a lovely ball over the top down the left, and played it to Geads, and Aiden’s cross was inches away from Wyke’s touch on 20 minutes. We conceded a corner off Wright from Accy’s next attack, which Burge eventually slapped it away when it was headed back across from the back post. We then went up the other end to win a corner off Hume’s cross with Wyke waiting to pounce That was our third of the game, and Geads took it from the right with his left, and the keeper took it under pressure. O’Brien then had too much time when we were three against two on the break, but he sort of scuffed his left footer after turning in from the right and the keeper was grateful to field the shot. He punted it up the field, Accy got sight of Burge’s goal and shot wide. From the clearance, Geads ran onto nice pass into the box from Gooch, but the keeper and a defender blocked his effort for corner when, for once, his first touch had bounced a wee bit too far ahead of him. We took this quickly and Accy stood their ground to force it out of the box. There had been lots of crosses from either wing – not just from us, but the visitors as well, as Accy were having a real go – almost as if we’d not scored. There’d not been that many free kicks as neither side resorted to the dark arts, with everybody on the pitch trying to play football. When he got a backpass first (which he’s supposed to). Burge did a dribble and turn onto his left foot to clear (which he isn’t). A nervous, nervous moment for us Sunderland fans.
Gooch took O’Brien’s pass and found Power, which our captain played off the fullback’s shin to win a corner on right, which Power himself took and Scowen, the smallest man on the pitch, won the header but couldn’t beat the keeper who took it up high. Up went Stanley, and Burge took an awkward cross despite o’9 getting in his way, then O’Brien took advantage of a hesitant defence to run onto the ball in the right side of the box, and win a corner off the keeper’s chest when he shot for goal. Unfortunately, when we tried a short one we made a right mess of it and Accy got it away without really trying. Winchester was booked for something that looked fairly innocuous on 42 minutes, then Geads came really deep to clear from our own box but not until he’d done his customary twazzle to beat an attacker.. O’9 clattered off the ball, which the ref missed but replays showed to be an accidental Accy tread on his heel. Wyke dived in and almost got his head to a cross from the left, but we got a free out on the right when Gooch tried to recover the ball. The cross bounced around in the box as three added minutes were announced, and Accy eventually got it away. Both sides kept playing football, then the whistle went for the break. It had been an open game in which the visitors had kept trying to play football, but when you go two up in the first ten minutes, it can be said that we started the brighter. Having said that, we had offered the visitors a lot of space between our box and halfway, but that did tempt them forward and leave gaps for Hume to speed into.
No changes for the second half – and why would there be? – and we went on the offensive from the off, with Geads and Hume dancing down the left and Aiden’s deep cross catching the keeper out, but he just tipped it away from the inrushing Gooch. Despite our bright start, it was Accy who set up the half’s first chance, with a pass inside Wright leaving Bishop in space to slot past Burge with five minutes played. A foul by Wright soon after led to another chance when the free was partially cleared, but the shot was one for the Black Cats Bar. The visitors had changed their tactics somewhat and were hitting it long and over the top at every opportunity for us to chase back and defend. Winchester was caught after releasing the ball, and the ref called foul but we couldn’t create anything from the free. Accy kept coming, and fired into the side netting, obviously inspired by the news that Will Grigg had scored four times in less than an hour for Franchise FC of Milton Keynes. On 58 minutes, Leadbitter replaced Gooch, more a reflection of Accrington than of Lynden, and that meant a swap to three central midfielders. Bishop then spent a while off the field changing a sock because it had blood on it – well, anything goes.
An offside call against Wyke ended a promising spell of play while the visitors were still a man down, and Leadbitter was later than a number 6 from West Auckland when flying into a tackle and was booked. Basically, his first contribution, and not the best of starts. We were starting to concede free kicks and had to thank Burge for taking a hopeful effort after one such misdemeanour on 63. Power played safety first when a long ball was played into the box and we had to defend another corner, winning a free kick when our captain was pushed over. Wright had to get up well to head back to Burge from another long ball, then Wyke was adjudged to have pushed their defender into handling near the edge of their box. A very harsh decision, and one that cost us dearly when O’9 and Burge got into a real mess over the ball upfield and Luke’s touch rolled past our keeper, who could only flap it along the line and inside the post after racing back. An awful mix-up, and while we can claim a misunderstanding, the fact is that Accy had stopped us playing in the second half and forced more chances than us.
On 72, it was almost three to Accy when their fullback arrived at our back post but could only blast it over from a narrow angle, and that was the signal for Winchester and O’Brien to make way for Jones and Diamond. Those two went wide, with Geads moving infield. Diamond was immediately into the action, picking up a clever ball through the middle from Geads but seeing it nicked off his toe as he sought to lay it off. Good defending by Power, whose tackle had to be well-timed, won us than ball back in our box, and we got it up the field, but to be honest it was the visitors who were first to nearly every ball and thus looking the more likely to get a third. Diamond then went against the run of play and snuck in, tipping it past the keeper but also the far post. He was at it again a minute or so later, picking it up just outside our box as we cleared a corner, and carrying it up the field as we outnumbered their defence on the break. With two options to his right, he laid it to Power on the left (eh? the left?) and Max’s side-footed shot was too strong for the keeper’s fingertips and it was 3-2 with eight minutes to go.
We conceded yet another silly free kick with Accy’s next attack, in their inside left channel and as it was only twenty yards out, McConville hit it up and over the wall and in off the bar. Bloody Hell, Lads – and that wasn’t the end of it, as Diamond ran at the visitors and Hume won a corner after Scowen was fouled and a belated yellow was given. Another Diamond run and cross almost created a chance, but Accy stuck out a toe and the next we knew they were outnumbering us in our box – but made a real arse of the shot. Typically, we gave away another free immediately after this, which someone out to safety for a corner on our left. Thankfully, Burge took this and five added minutes were announced, which we celebrated by giving away another free - this one was on halfway, so they were unlikely to score from it. We cleared it, and were a very good headed clearance from McGeady’s goal-bound shot after the keeper spilled Diamond’s effort away from a winner. Accy’s response was to fall over in our box as they bypassed midfield to get forward, and we did the same with their keeper dropping onto another shot. Power galloped down the right, and Geads rolled it to Leadbitter, whose shot from distance was tipped behind for a corner. Stewart came on for Geads, presumably to head the winner, but he was beaten to the cross. We did win a free as we tried to carry the ball back to their box, which was rolled to Leadbitter – another shot blocked, and we were piling desperately forward when the whistle went.
3-3, not what we wanted but I suppose that any neutral daft enough to tune in for fun would have been thoroughly entertained. From being the side that didn’t let goals in, we’ve become the side that can’t stop conceding – honestly, there’s more chance of a clean sheet in a Blackpool B&B. After a first half in which we’d hardly given away a free kick, we gave away a series of silly ones in the second half which we wobbled in defending – if indeed we did defend them.
Man of the Match? Nobody at the back in the second half, for obvious reasons, and for me it’s between the architect of our first half lead – McGeady – and the man who scored twice. So I’ll give it to Chas. Argue if you like.
Redmen TV using ALS HQ to interview Sobs and Bally. Photo taken by Adam Batey.
