Donaldson brace puts Grayson’s men to the sword
DEADLINE DAY signing Clayton Donaldson was at the double to help Sheffield United pile the misery on Sunderland by recording a solid win at the Stadium of Light.
Donaldson struck in each half to guide the Blades to a third win in a row – even though the former Birmingham frontman’s goals were the first scored by the Championship new boys away from home this season.
Sunderland, who have won just one of their opening six league games and have lost three in a row, pulled one back in stoppage-time through Ja c k Rodwell’s head, but they now sit just a point above the relegation zone on an afternoon they will want to forget.
Black Cats fans chanted ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ and ‘are you watching Ellis Short’ at the players and the club’s owners, as manager Simon Grayson was left frustrated in the dug-out.
Grayson – who has spent just £1.25m since taking over on ten new players – must have hoped the introduction of deadline day signings Jonny Williams and Marc Wilson to the starting line-up
would have the desired effect on his team after back- to- back defeats to Barnsley and Leeds.
Despite the evident energy of Williams, eager to impress on his home bow after moving from Crystal Palace, Sunderland never got going and struggled to create things, as well as being nervous at the back.
Neither side created anything of note until the opening goal. That arrived on 21 minutes when Wilson, signed from Bournemouth, must have wanted the ground to eat him up.
The defender, asked to play as one of three centre-backs, gave Donaldson far too much space to cut inside and then the Blades’ most recent signing dispatched a low drive in off the inside post of goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter.
The Sunderland goalkeeper should have done better and that opener led to a period of nervousness at the back, with Sheffield United doing enough to worry the hosts regularly enough without scoring a second.
While those efforts were created, Sunderland struggled to do anything at the other end due to lack of movement. On the one occasion they did threaten in the opening period James Vaughan volleyed a Lewis Grabban cross wide from 12 yards.
Sheffield United, who had not scored in three away games beforehand, worked hard, with Sunderland introducing John O’Shea for Lamine Kone at the back for the second half.
In a further sign of how Chris Wilder’s men frustrated Sunderland, striker Vaughan was replaced to make way for debutant Callum McManaman, while midfielder Rodwell received boos from some Sunderland fans.
Things went from bad to worse in the closing stages when Sheffield United added the second – and there couldn’t be many complaints about it either, as Donaldson beat Ruiter with a terrific finish inside the top left corner.
Despite a couple of late moves forward, which resulted in Rodwell nodding beyond Blackman from McManaman’s cross in stoppage-time, Sheffield United held on for the points.