WELCOME TO THE STADIUM OF FIGHT
SUNDERLAND are not as bad as Darron Gibson makes out after all. Perhaps they are simply better off without him on the pitch.
The midfielder let rip in a drunken rant last weekend in which he branded the side ‘f****** s***’. His punishment was a fine of two weeks’ wages and a place on the bench. And from there Gibson would have watched what was a spirited display which deserved more than the one point it ultimately earned.
New boss Simon Grayson will settle for that outcome, however, especially given the fact his five predecessors all lost their first match in charge.
Sunderland striker Lewis Grabban’s first-half penalty cancelled out Bradley Johnson’s opener and the Bournemouth loanee struck the woodwork after the break as the hosts pressed for a first league victory in August since 2010. They have four matches to right that alarming trend before the dawn of September.
The groundstaff were instructed to reduce the size of the pitch this week in light of last Saturday’s 5-0 schooling by Celtic in a friendly. The sight of his team being dragged around the park fitter opponents had obviously given Grayson cause for concern, and the only avenue for improvement was to trim the dimensions.
It was a ploy which worked, at least for 10 minutes as Sunderland started well. Grabban threaded George Honeyman in on goal but his chip bounced across the target rather than in it. Aiden McGeady, though, had read the miscue and steamed in at the far post only for his first-time blast to be cleared from the line by a recovering Andre Wisdom. Just 60 seconds later and they were trailing.
Everton loanee Brendan Galloway will not want to watch replays of his debut, for he was skinned all too easily by Johnny Russell as the winger galloped freely into the penalty area.
His cross deflected off Lamine Kone and Johnson followed up to steer into the unguarded net at the far post. There was an eery and familiar silence around the Stadium of Light — the new era lasted 10 minutes before it started to feel just like the old one.
It could have got worse moments later when Tom Huddlestone — enjoying a second Derby debut some 14 years after first appearing as a 16-year-old — drilled low on goal from distance. It was a vicious effort which Jason Steele could only parry, before snaffling it away Derby’s Jacob Butterfield, who was tearing into the six-yard area.
And so began the Sunderland revival. Skipper Lee Cattermole last scored on the opening day three years ago and he would have had another early- season strike had it not been for the instinctive palms of Scott Carson flipping his 12-yard volley over the crossbar. Grabban then went close from similar range, albeit missing the target by a matter of inches.
The home pressure told three minutes shy of the interval. Former Derby and Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini was handing out pints of beer in the away concourse before the game, and it looked as if Butterfield had downed a couple of those as he stumbled clumsily when attempting to clear inside the area and handling the ball. Penalty.
Grabban and James Vaughan had rowed over who would take a spot-kick against Celtic. Vaughan won the argument but fluffed the kick. There was no such dispute this time and Grabban duly tucked it away for a debut goal. Tellingly, Vaughan was the first player to congratulate the scorer.
Cattermole missed the bulk of last season with injury and, like a dog robbed of its bark and bite, Sunderland surrendered on too many occasions. Not here, for Cattermole was everywhere.
That was evident in the second half when he headed Richard Keogh’s goal-bound header to safety from his own line before charging upfield and teeing up Grabban for a shot which cracked the angle of post and bar.
We wonder what a certain unused substitute would have thought had that flown in.