Source: Telegraph
Sunderland 1 Manchester City 1: match report
Sunderland-born Adam Johnson made a fairytale return to Wearside to rescue a point for Manchester City. [LNB]Johnson, a £7m signing from Middlesbrough during the January transfer window, emerged as a substitute to strike a brilliant stoppage-time equaliser that cancelled out Kenywne Jones' early opener for relegation-threatened Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tableTelegraph player raterPremier League fixturesSport on televisionBefore Johnson's dramatic late intervention when he curled in a sublime shot beyond the inspired Craig Gordon it had seemed that City would rue a string of missed chances as they sought the win needed to draw level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham in the race for Champions League football and intensify the pressure on Liverpool. [LNB]City were looking to extend a sequence of nine straight wins over the Wearside club but Sunderland began with uncharacteristic poise thanks to the presence of young Irishman David Meyler in midfield, by virtue of the feisty Lee Cattermole's hamstring injury. [LNB]Sunderland manager bemoaned Cattermole's absence in a pre-match interview, but it was Meyler's finesse ensured that his team began where they left off in the 4-0 victory over Bolton by taking a ninth-minute lead. [LNB]Meyler, 20, a £160,000-signing from Cork City, was the architect of the goal, spreading a long ball out to Steed Malbranque, a rejuvenated figure since being switched to the left flank, who checked on to his right foot before floating over a cross that Jones rose elegantly above Vincent Kompany to nod past a helpless Shay Given. [LNB]City struggled to gain any rhythm as Meyler outshone Gareth Barry and the way Carlos Tevez misdirected a simple pass to Craig Bellamy on the half-hour illustrated their singular lack of cohesion. [LNB]However, Barry almost levelled for his side shortly afterwards when the Sunderland centre-half John Mensah failed to cut out Micah Richards' low cross and the ball fell to the England midfielder who curled a right-footed shot just wide. [LNB]It went from bad to worse for City in the 33rd minute when former England left-back Wayne Bridge hobbled off and a re-jig saw Roque Santa Cruz enter the fray to join the isolated Tevez in attack after the Argentine had been subdued by John Mensah. [LNB]The City cause was not helped by the reckless tackling that saw Tevez, Richards and Shaun Wright-Phillips all booked before half-time as Mancini's team struggled to find a way back on to level terms against a side growing in confidence. [LNB]Had Bent not embarrassed himself by completely mis-kicking as he set his sights on goal from a favourable position then Sunderland could almost have been out of sight by the interval. [LNB]After being given a half-time lift when Bruce had to withdraw Jones, City went close to equalising three times but Gordon pulled off two fine saves to deny Santa Cruz and Wright-Phillips before saving from Bellamy in a sudden flurry of penalty box activity. [LNB]With Sunderland relying on counter-attacks, City were unable to build any momentum and the frustration got to Barry who can count himself fortunate that he was only booked by Chris Foy following a spiteful altercation with Meyler who was also cautioned. [LNB]It was backs-to-the-wall stuff for Sunderland, but Michael Turner and Mensah thrived in those circumstances, although they were indebted to Gordon who saved brilliantly to keep out Tevez's close-range effort following Bellamy's devilish cross. [LNB]Scotland international Gordon foiled City again when Bellamy broke clear of Alan Hutton but had a low shot repelled by the former Hearts skipper in a heart-stopping finale. [LNB]Gordon again denied Bellamy with his legs before Johnson, a 73rd minute subsitutte, underlined his England potential by bending a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box into Gordon's top right-hand corner to earn City a share of the spoils. [LNB]
