Can Moyes rescue slack Cats from big relegation scrap?
IN the end Sunderland snatched a point, but Patrick van Aanholt’s late equaliser should fool nobody.
The annual miracle will be required if the Stadium of Light is to witness Premier League football again next season.
The problem for David Moyes is in each of the four years they have escaped relegation, they’ve had to change the manager to make it happen.
The big question is: is the Scot the man for the job?
The man who saved them last time, Sam Allardyce, is at his Spanish villa, apparently indulging in a period of reflection.
The fans would probably welcome Big Sam back, despite his indiscretions, though there is no appetite at boardroom level to add him to any hypothetical shortlist of possible successors to Moyes.
Sunderland are now winless in their opening seven league matches for the third time in the last four seasons.
They’ ve gone 25 games– spanning four years – without a Premier League victory in the months of August and September and they only average a point a game in October.
They came perilously close to losing all three here after Nacer Chadli gave West Brom the lead with a classy 35th-minute strike.
But the Black Cats responded well in the second half and Van Aanholt’s strike ensured the result reflected the match.
A couple of weeks ago the Dutch left- back was withdrawn from the warm-up at Tottenham because of reports of a heart problem.
It turned out to be false alarm, but he only made his contribution here because Moyes sent him on when Jan Kirchhoff was stretchered off just after the break.
Moyes said: “It’s a disappointment not to win, though with 10 minutes to go I’d have taken a point. Obviously we see it as points dropped, not a point gained.
“But we kept at it and I’m glad we were able to give the supporters something. We needed to find a goal from somewhere and we don’t have any forward options on the bench.
“The only way was to change the system, find a bit more width and get in more crosses.
“We’ve been training Pat to be further forward in a couple of sessions this week and he’s got a great scoring record for a full-back.”
The last thing Moyes needed was Jermain Defoe missing relatively easy chances, so when the little striker put one wide in the fourth minute after great work by Didier Ndong and Duncan Watmore, his despair was obvious.
Chadli brought a decent save out of Jordan Pickford after Matt Phillips had got round the back of Sunderland’s defence and a more routine one from a long- range Phillips effort.
Then 10 minutes before the break Claudio Yacob won the ball in midfield and Phillips’ pass took Lamine Kone out of the game.
Chadli took the ball in his stride and his low shot into the far corner beat Pickford comfortably.
Moyes would have expected a response after half-time and he got one, though ironically because Kirchhoff was injured in a collision with Salomon Rondon. Albion still looked like the more likely scorers of the second goal and on the hour Darren Fletcher struck a wicked dipping shot that Pickford did well to beat away.
Sunderland’s best move of the match came with a brilliantly drilled diagonal ball from Van Aanholt to Wahbi Khazri, who pulled it back for Defoe, but his shot was blocked brilliantly by Jonny Evans.
Pickford turned Rondon’s shot away at his near post after the Albion striker had muscled past Jason Denayer.
Chadli then messed up a great chance to seal the game after Pickford had charged from his box to clear, but chose the wrong pass.
It was to prove decisive because within half a minute Van Aanholt had scored the equaliser.
He started the move himself, picking the ball up deep inside his own half.
By the time it reached Watmore, the Dutchman was inside the Albion box and he deserved the bit of luck he got when he mis-hit his shot into the turf and saw the ball spiral past Ben Foster.