JOSH JOINS MAJA LEAGUES
Teen ends the Black Cats’ awful winless home run
ADEBUT strike from teenager Josh Maja finally brought an end to Sunderland’s embarrassing winless home run.
The Stadium of Light has been more like the Stadium of Blight in 2017, a black hole devoid of goals, points or optimism.
Since beating Watford on December 17 last year, the Black Cats hadn’t won on their own patch in an English-record 21 matches and defeat to Fulham would have stretched the grisly streak into a second calendar year.
But with time running out, new boss Chris Coleman threw on two teenage strikers and saw his bravery rewarded as Maja spun Kevin McDonald before firing low past Marcus Bettinelli.
“I’m really happy,” said Coleman, who replaced the sacked Simon Grayson in November. “Not for me, but for a lot of other people.
“We’ve only been here a few weeks. The staff, the supporters – they’ve been suffering for a whole year. They deserve this.
“It’s been so long for them, but week after week, they’re still here to support us. I’m desperate to give them something to smile about and the players went and did that.
“It’s great to get rid of an unwanted record, but what we can’t do is think everything is alright now just because we’ve won a game. This is three points, a small gain. There’s still a hell of a lot of work to do.”
Sunderland did not play like a side on the brink of fresh ignominy, less still one that had won just twice all season.
Going forward, Coleman’s back-to-basics approach gave the home side potency and clarity. With Lewis Grabban and James Vaughan deployed in tandem, the Welshman’s instructions were blatant; get it wide, get in the box, rinse and repeat.
“You can talk about formations and philosophies all you want,” said Coleman, who spent three years in charge of Fulham. “But first up, you need a base to stop the rot.”
By and large, it worked. Darrron Gibson, who grafted tirelessly to protect his back three, forced a save from Bettinelli, as did Grabban. Vaughan then miscued a six-yard header,
a kindness swiftly reciprocated at the other end when Ollie Norwood squandered a delightful delivery from Rui Fonte. Had Grabban done more than glance an Adam Matthews cross wide, Fulham could not have complained.
Fulham, as ever, had menaced on the counter, the elusive Stefan Johansen twice forcing routine saves from Robbin Ruiter.
But the away side never got into their stride, the slickness and incision that cut opponents to ribbons last term utterly absent.
Again, Vaughan and Grabban went close. Bettinelli was, by a mile, the Whites’ best player. And as Slavisa Jokanovic scowled into his scarf, Sunderland seized their opportunity.
Coleman threw on Maja and Joel Asoro, a strike pairing boasting just four first-team games and a combined age of 36.
The pair had been on the pitch just five minutes when Maja struck, collecting a Matthews pass before unleashing an angled eight-yard finish that belied his tender years.
“I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen from Josh in training,” added Coleman. “I’m sure Simon (Grayson) would have used him but he’s been injured. I had no qualms about putting the pair of them on. I knew they’d handle the situation. Josh will remember that moment forever.”
For Jokanovic, the moment was certainly one to forget.
“We defended poorly for the goal,” said the Serb. “We had enough players in the 18-yard box but we gave him so much space. We did enough to come back with some points but we paid an expensive price for one mistake.”