Away draw Hull of a relief for Black Cats
AFTER four straight defeats, Sunderland have stopped the rot.
However, the sense of relief felt by Simon Grayson and Black Cats fans was tempered by that of disappointment after they conceded a late equaliser against Hull City at the KCOM Stadium.
So what could have been a morale-boosting victory was instead no more than a solid away point.
How you view it will depend on whether you see the glass as half-full, or half-empty.
Given the negative vibes which have set in on Wearside during the four-game losing streak and which have their roots in the club’s decline going back years, for some fans it was two points thrown away and more disappointment. Yet manager Grayson, and the bulk of the 1,700 Sunderland fans who made the short journey to Humberside, will prefer to focus on another, small, step in the right direction.
Because for the entire firsthalf - and arguably as far as the hour mark - Sunderland were the better team.
They fully deserved the firsthalf lead summer signing James Vaughan had given them - and it will have been a weight off his shoulders to have finally opened his account for the club.
That goal seemed to give Sunderland the confidence they have been lacking as they knocked the ball around in midfield and took the game to the Tigers.
The problem was Sunderland could not add to their advantage and give themselves the twogoal cushion they probably needed to fully relax.
As a result, when Hull threw everything forward in the second half, Sunderland began to defend too deep and had to defend for their lives.
Then, when key players such as Callum McManaman, Jonny Williams, and Vaughan - the latter having been ill with a stomach bug for 48 hours before the game - began to tire in the final 20 minutes, the Wearsiders lacked the strength in depth on the bench to bring on like-forlike replacements. Nevertheless, they were able to keep Hull at bay until ex-Black Cat David Meyler’s shot deflected off defender Lamine Kone at close range.
That was enough to divert it past the startled Robbin Ruiter, whose earlier saves looked to have put Sunderland on course for their first clean sheet of the season.
Next stop for Grayson’s men is the midweek Carabao Cup game at Everton and an early reunion with former goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
However, the more important game on the horizon is next weekend’s match against highflying Cardiff City at the Stadium of Light.
Only a home win will truly keep the fans onside.