Crystal Palace gaffe gives Sunderland win in lackluster match
The path to safety is long and arduous, but Sunderland has at least embarked upon it with a 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace. It remains in the relegation zone, but a second win of the season takes it above Bournemouth and with a point of fourth bottom. This was a desperately hard-fought victory, based on dogged defending and achieved through a Jermain Defoe sucker punch with 10 minutes remaining.
Whether Sunderland can prosper with this policy remains to be seen. Defending like this means it is always in danger of being undone by an individual error â and this is not a side that inspires much confidence in its capacity to avoid mistakes. It was undone at West Brom by a mistake by the goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon (although he may have been fouled, in which case the error was the referee's) and against Southampton by a rash tackle from Yann M'Vila that conceded a penalty. This time, though, despite a number of late scares, it hung on and, in the cold light of morning, will probably reflect that, although it was under almost constant pressure it had the better chances. And it was a strange decision by Crystal Palace defender Scott Dann that gifted Defoe the goal.
The game began with a sense of two clubs moving in very different directions. As Sunderland, in its ninth successive season in the Premier League, digs in for another long fight against relegation, Palace, in its third is thinking of establishing itself as a mid-table club with aspirations to Europa League qualification.
The Palace chairman Steve Parrish had said in his programm notes that talks with the US investors David Blitzer and Josh Harris, who own stakes in the New Jersey Devils NHL franchise and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, are at "an advanced stage." The plan, as it stands would be for Parrish to remain as the joint-largest shareholder meaning "the day-to-day running of the cub will remain the same," while releasing capital for redevelopment of a stadium that, for all its charm, increasing seems a relic.
Sunderland began with three central defenders â although Sam Allardyce had tried to spread confusion by claiming in at least two pre-game television interviews that his plan was a back four with John O'Shea at left-back. For much of the game that meant Sunderland sitting eight men behind the ball with the two wing-backs getting forward to join Defoe and Steven Fetcher on the counter-attack.
That meant Palace dominating possession as Sunderland essentially gave the home side the flanks until it got to within 25 yards or so of goal and encouraged it to cross, relying on the three towering figures of O'Shea, Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Coates to win any aerial balls against Connor Wickham â who left Sunderland for Palace when his contract expired in the summer.
Sunderland largely frustrated Palace, which was reduced in the main to long-range efforts and the occasional bit of penalty-box pinball. That was Allardyce's game plan, but it didn't make for a great spectacle and Palace's irritation was evident in a number of misplaced passes and heavy touches. And Sunderland did pose a threat: Fletcher, under pressure, firing over from a Defoe knock-down in the first minute and Defoe shooting wide after running into a Lee Cattermole pass after 12 minutes.
Inevitably, Palace's constant domination of territory meant chances came its way. Yohan Cabaye had an angled shot pushed away by Pantlimon and Wilfried Zaha bent an effort just wide, but both were half-chances from outside the area. Zaha, surging down the right, looked increasingly dangerous as the second half wore on
There had been signs in Sunderland's home defeat to Southampton of an enhanced defensive resolve, and that was in evidence again here. And so long as it remained 0-0, there was always the threat of a Sunderland smash and grab. It took a clearance off the line by Cabaye to keep out a Coates header from a corer early in the second half, and Wayne Hennessey had to get down sharply to keep out a Jeremain Lens snapshot with quarter of an hour to go.
And then, with 10 minutes to go, came the sort of moment Palace must have dreaded. Bolasie was dispossessed by Billy Jones, who overhit his through-ball to Defoe. Scott Dann and Hennessey both hesitated, though, and Defoe nipped in to poke the ball past the goalkeeper and then hit it into an empty net.
Pantilimon, who had an excellent game at Selhurst Park last season, then made a fine save to keep out a Cabaye shot. But Palace, for all the crosses in got into the box and all its set-plays, looked short of spark. It's now won only three of its last 11 home games, and looks far better on the road, when it can sit back, absorb pressure and break. In a sense, Sunderland did to it what it has become a master of doing to others.
