Maja lights the way
Sunderland’s year of home misery is over
AFTER 364 days without a win at the Stadium of Light, who do you turn to? How about the teenager who has not played a single second of that miserable 21-match run?
For the past 12 months Josh Maja has spent his time either in the treatment room or playing for Sunderland’s Under-23s in front of a few hundred spectators.
So at least when Chris Coleman threw him on for his League debut with 17 minutes remaining, the 18year- old had no mental fatigue from the trauma of that unwanted British record.
Within four minutes of coming on, the London-born Maja had his chance. There was still work to be done when Adam Matthews fed him a pass inside the penalty area. What followed he made look easy, one touch to control and spin, another to finish. Easy, however, it was not. Nothing has been in these parts of late. Sunderl and have found every which way not to win a football match in front of their own fans. They have had red cards, own goals, lost leads and late concessions.
Maja, then, felt like Coleman was playing his joker. And how the home fans laughed on full- time when the realisation of the victory sunk in, just 24 hours shy of a full year since their last at home.
To add to the joy of the occasion for the young hero, this was against the club he quit to join the Black Cats in 2015.
Former Fulham boss Coleman, meanwhile, will take no added satisfaction from the identity of the opposition, for a win alone is cause enough for celebration. The three points lifted Sunderland out of the bottom three for the first time since September. Coleman, for whom this was just his second home match in charge, said: ‘I’m more happy for the people around the club, if I’m honest.
‘I’ve only been here a few weeks, they have been suffering for the past year.
‘I’m so pleased for them, it’s a great feeling. It’s good to get rid of that unwanted record.’
But the Welshman warned: ‘This is only a start. There are so many more games and challenges to face. But I felt that at the end, the fans were ecstatic — and I would be too if I was them.’
Coleman, though, must take the credit. He withdrew top scorer Lewis Grabban and strike partner James Vaughan when he introduced Nigerian striker Maja and teenage Swede Joel Asoro.
‘ I just felt that Fulham would have known nothing about them and they were a little bit different to what we had already,’ said the manager.
‘I had no qualms about putting them on. We wanted to win the game and they gave us impact.’
If Sunderland are to avoid the drop to League One, however, they must find a way of keeping 11-goal Grabban at the club beyond January.
The on-loan Bournemouth striker has a recall clause in his seasonlong stay and his parent club could choose to cash in amid interest from several Championship sides.
He was at the heart of everything good about the hosts during an impressive first half, even if his finishing was a little wayward. He went close with two headers and laid on another chance spurned by Vaughan, who was then unlucky to be denied by Marcus Bettinelli’s instinctive save after the break.
For all of the threat his front two posed, perhaps this was not going t o be t heir day and Coleman responded by i ntroducing t he youngsters. It proved the inspiration they needed — it has only taken 364 days.