Another red-card storm for Brown

WES BROWN, who successfully appealed against his sending-off at Stoke last month, was at the centre of another red-card controversy in the closing minutes of this scrappy relegation battle.

This time it was Martin Atkinson who did not endear himself to Gus Poyet by ruling that the Sunderland central defender’s heavy challenge on Ricky van Wolfswinkel merited the ultimate punishment.

‘I do not wish to comment on the referee’s decisions,’ said Sunderland manager Poyet, who indicated that the club this time might not make any attempt to spare Brown his three-match suspension. ‘We were achieving some stability at the back with another clean sheet, but now I don’t know what we will do.

‘There were things that happened on the pitch which I have no explanation for.’

The added-time drama apart, there was precious little in the game to conjure up any festive spirit.

Sunderland’s winless run in the Premier League stretched to six matches while City’s most successful sequence of the season, following a 5-1 defeat at Liverpool, moved on to three unbeaten.

‘I have been pleased with the response after that heavy defeat,’ said Norwich manager Chris Hughton. ‘I was happy with the point. A draw was a fair result on the balance of play.’

City were always comfortable in holding the home side until Poyet threw on first Adam Johnson and then Steven Fletcher for the last 20 minutes. Only then did things begin to happen in the visitors’ penalty area.

In the 70th minute, Brown headed against a post after a goalmouth scramble, Michael Turner rescued his team with a superb challenge on Fletcher but Norwich had their luckiest escape of all eight minutes from the end when, with John Ruddy stranded out of his goal, Ki chipped the ball over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.

‘I was nervous,’ admitted Hughton, whose team had their moments, too, particularly when Vito Mannone pushed a 25-yarder from Gary Hooper away for a corner three minutes before the interval.

Sunderland’s remaining home programme, with only two top-third sides at the Stadium Of Light, offers a crumb of optimism. But any results and performances like this will see that disappear.