O'Nien winding up Power & other moments you may have missed
Power kicked the ball back to the area of the original offence. O’Nien responded with a smile and a little slap on thecheekofhisformercaptain, who looked a little disgruntled both with his ex-team-mate and his performance.
And you have to say O’Nien and his colleagues Corry Evans and Elliot Embleton had the beating of Power and the Latics midfield for the majority of the fixture. Power struggled to get into the game and often dropped deep to receive the ball from Wigan’s centrebacks. In short, O’Nien and his team-mates seemed to get the better of Power both mentally and physically.
It was fantastic to see so many fans back in the ground on Saturday.
The pantomime before the game was fantastic. How we havemissedthat,notjustfrom Sunderlandfansbutinfootball generally.Therewereloudsarcastic roars as Power misfired during pre-match a shooting drill in front of the Roker End and jeers as Charlie Wyke buried his effort.
Theflags,thenoise,thecolour, the passion… it was great to see it all make a return in full following a nightmare 18 months of tackling the pandemic.
After a delayed kick-off due to road works in the area, the Stadium of Light bowl was a cauldron of noise ahead of the opening whistle.
The rendition of Elvis Presley’s‘Can'tHelpFallinginLove’ and accompanying roar before the opening bell brought goosebumps. And those in the ground may have noticed a change.
Rory Fallow – formerly of the Sunderland fan podcast Wise Men Say – has taken over the reins from Frankie Francis as stadium announcer and did a fantastic job of whipping the crowdintoafrenzybothbefore the game and after the win.
Let’s hope Sunderland keeps winning so the crowd can continue cheering.