LONDON --
Five in a row. Never before this run had Sunderland ever even won four derbies in a row, and yet the strange sense is that that wasn’t even the most important statistic on Wearside on Sunday evening. A 1-0 win that should have been far more comfortable than it turned out to be was Sunderland’s first in the league since January, only its fifth of the season and provides hope that relegation might yet be avoided. The goal that brought it was a special one, one swing of Jermain Defoe’s left foot ending – for now – any grumbles from Sunderland fans about his £70,000 a week salary.
That’s not to say that the five in a row won’t be celebrated. The turnaround is remarkable: Sunderland has won more derbies in the past two years than in the previous 34, a run that is all the more remarkable for the upheaval the club has undergone in that time. Dick Advocaat became the third manager in a row – after Gus Poyet and Paolo Di Canio, to begin his Sunderland reign with a defeat followed by a victory in the derby.
Wins for Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers on Saturday and a draw for Burnley against Tottenham earlier on Sunday afternoon had added to the pressure on Sunderland, who began the game out of the relegation zone only on goal-difference. It finished it in fifteenth, three points clear of the relegation zone.
There was an urgency to Sunderland in the first half. Advocaat, if nothing else, has ended the sense of aimless drift to relegation. There were balls slung forward, crosses hoist across the box, corners and set-plays and nothing that came closer to a goal than the Connor Wickham header from a left-wing corner that flocked off Moussa Sissoko and hit the outside of the post – although Jack Colback, standing on the line, would surely have blocked the effort had it been on target.
For all their energy, though, this Sunderland is a side desperately lacking in quality, creativity and confidence. Break after break was stifled by a poor touch or a misplaced pass. The situation is exacerbated by Adam Johnson, the most incisive player at the club still not match fit after being suspended by the club as the police investigate allegations of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl; he is still on police bail but the suspension was lifted two and a half weeks ago, shortly after Advocaat’s arrival and started on the bench.
The lack of quality had little impact on the noise, anxiety being converted into volume by a 47,500 sell-out. Fevered as tensions were, fans of both sides joined in the applause after 17 minutes in memory of John Alder and Liam Sweeney, the two Newcastle fans killed when Air Malaysia flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine as they traveled to New Zealand for a pre-season friendly. Barry Sweeney, Liam’s father, was at the Stadium of Light as a guest of Sunderland.
The sense of solidarity over the tragedy is indicative of a general maturing in the relationship between the two clubs: only a couple of years ago, it would have been deemed far too high-risk to be played at 4pm on a holiday weekend. Not that that did much to stem the abuse dished out to Johnson - over the allegations – and Colback, for having left Sunderland on a free transfer in the summer to join the club he had supported as a boy.
And then, in the final minute of the first half, came a moment out of keeping with everything that had gone before. Costel Pantilimon launched a long clearance forward, Steven Fletcher with his back to goal, nodded a header to his right, and Defoe crashed a looping volley from 25 yards into the top corner, a quite brilliant goal made to seem all the better by the quality of everything that had gone before. It was the forward’s third goal since his £14million move from FC Toronto in January, but his first in six games.
Newcastle did begun the second half a little more brightly – not that that was difficult – bit for the most part the game remained a tale of unfulfilled Sunderland promise. Again and again crosses flew unconverted across the box or breaks were thwarted at the last, often by Fletcher’s determination only even to shoot with his left foot. Sebastian Larsson whipped a free-kick just wide and then a shot deflected just wide by Mike Williamson.
Then came doubt, the sense that wasted chances would cost Sunderland. Remy Cabella had a shot from the edge of the box beaten away by Pantilimon – Newcastle’s first on target and it came with 13 minutes remaining. Ayoze Perez lashed a volley over form eight yards as a corner was flicked on for him. But a side that had been desperately poor for three-quarters of the game couldn’t raise itself, and Sunderland held on for a valuable win it thoroughly deserved.
