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Mark Halsey blows the final whistle and Sunderland steal the victory from Derby
SUNDERLAND 1 - 0 DERBY (STOKES): Anthony Stokes some how scrambled the ball over the line and puts Sunderland ahead in the 92nd minute
The fourth official indicates three minutes of added time
Derby win a free kick in a good position on the right side, but Howard's header from the cross was caught by Darren Ward
Robert Earnshaw replaces Kenny Miller
Gary Teale is replaced by Dean Leacock
Grant Leadbitter is replaced by Liam Miller
Sunderland win a corner after some good exchanges between Leadbitter and Stokes but Wallace's cross is cleared to safety by Derby
Danny Collins resorts to shooting from thirty yards out but his shot was always rising and it went flying over the bar
Neither team have created any clear chances to score this half and the game has been a disappointment following the excitement of the first half
Craig Fagan tries his luck with a drilled shot from twenty five yards but it was blocked by Danny Higginbotham
Carlos Edwards can not continue and is replaced by Anthony Stokes
Carlos Edwards goes down for Sunderland after he committed a foul on McEveley and looks in a lot of discomfort
Giles Barnes is replaced by Craig Fagan
The game is getting very scrappy now and both teams look nervous to concede a goal
James McEveley got down the left for Derby and fired an ambitious thirty five yard shot at Darren Ward who caught it comfortably
Sunderland simply can not put the ball in the back of the net this afternoon, first Leadbitter had his shot blocked by McEveley and then Whitehead's shot looked to be heading for the bottom corner but it was his own man Chopra who blocked his shot
Michael Chopra replaces Andy Cole for Sunderland
Up goes Steve Howard in the box once again and once again his header goes wide of the mark for Derby, but Sunderland are still having trouble stopping their crosses into the penalty area
Finally Mark Halsey wears down the lead of his pencil with the name of James McEveley going into his notebook, much to the joy of the Sunderland fans
Mark Halsey is letting the players get away with murder today, this time it was Darren Moore who indiscretely clattered into the back of Kenwyne Jones but some how escaped a booking
Sunderland then wasted the opportunity of the free kick in a very good position and Derby cleared comfortably
I don't know how James McEveley hasn't been booked by Halsey for a nasty challenge on Dean Whitehead was hurt by the challenge
Suprisingly the game is still a stalemate but i wouldn't bet against goals being scored the second half of this game
The Sunderland fans had their heart's in their mouths as Danny Collins almost sold Darren Ward short with a clumsy back pass
Darren Ward dropped the ball once again as he came to claim the corner but some how Sunderland got the ball out of the penalty area and to safety
Sunderland get the game back underway and hopefully the second half is just as ecxiting as the first
It's half time here at the Stadium of Light and goaless
A miraculous miss from Kenwyne Jones once again as Stephen Bywater spilled Grant Leadbitter's shot and all Jones needed to to was side foot the ball through the Sunderland defenders, but he fired the ball off the upright
Darren Ward has been the busier of the two Goalkeepers, but only because Derby have hit the target and Sunderland have not
Derby so close to a goal once again as Darren Ward came to claim a corner, he lost the ball after Ross Wallace clattered into his own 'Keeper and Steve Howard turned and hit the ball goal bound, only for Sunderland to clear the ball off the line
A terrific finger-tip save from Darren Ward in the Sunderland goal as he got down low to tip Kenny Miller's fierce shot onto the post and Sunderland get away scot-free
Andrew Griffin crossed the ball into the area for Derby which saw Darren Ward come to collect in no mans land, but Steve Howard put his header onto the roof of the net and failed to capitalise on Sunderland's mistake
It looked like Kenwyne Jones miss-hit his left footed shot, but it went narrowly over the cross bar much to the surprise to Stephen Bywater
Roy Keane has got to be believing that one of these chances his team has been getting will surely be converted soon
Carlos Edwards this time for Sunderland wrapped his right foot around the ball and sent it just wide of Bywater's post
Kenwyne Jones turned Claude Davis about twenty five yards out from goal, turned his marker and drilled a right footed shot that Darren Moore bravely blocked for Derby
Greg Halford showed good determination by driving forward from right back, going past two Derby players and firing a shot over the bar but showing the conviction that I'm sure Roy Keane will want to see from his players
It was harder to miss the target but Kenwyne Jones failed to make the most of his opportunity and put a left foot shot wide of the post, much to the disaray of Roy Keane
Sunderland are creating some chances put have failed to make any of them count so far, but they are definately looking the more likely team to score at the minute
Once again Andy Cole found space in the penalty area as he pulled away from his marker and tried to place a header into the far corner of the goal, but the ball went inches wide of the mark
Andy Cole misses another golden chance, this time Ross Wallace did brilliantly to whip the ball accross the goal mouth and Cole put it over the bar from just six yards out
Paul McShane gives away a free kick half way in his own half with some clumsy defending, unfortunately possible deja vu from last week
Andy Cole went close with a well taken left foot shot inside the penalty area but his effort just going past the wrong side of the upright
Sunderland enjoyed a good spell of possession for around two minutes, putting Derby under pressure and winning two corners that came of nothing for the home side
Darren Ward called into action for the first time as Steve Howard brought the ball down on his chest and Giles Barnes smashed a shot from around thirty yards out, but Ward gathered it safely
Giles Barnes was lucky to get away without a yellow card from Mark Halsey after he caught Greg Halford with a late tackle
Carlos Edwards dribbled down the right and got into a good position to put the ball in the penalty area but he miss-hit his cross and sent the ball out for a goal kick
The home side had their first chance of the game when Danny Higginbotham got his head to Grant Leadbitter's free kick but Stephen Bywater in the Derby goal saved comfortably
Ross Wallace clatters into his first tackle and clearly shows Sunderland's intent in the opening minute
The away side get the game underway at the Stadium of Light
The referee today is Mark Halsey (Lancarshire).
Derby's new boss Paul Jewell has a virtually full fit squad for his first game in charge and not suprisingly recalls Kenny Miller and Claude Davis to the starting line-up, but Dean Leacock has to settle for a place on the bench.
Kenwyne Jones, Dean Whitehead and Carlos Edwards have all been passed fit after recovering from injuries, but Roy Keane is without Nyron Nosworthy who has a hamstring problem.
Derby County Line-up: Bywater, Griffin, Davis, Moore, McEveley, Teale, Oakley, Pearson, Barnes, Howard, Miller
Sunderland Line-up: Ward, Halford, McShane, Higginbotham, Collins, Edwards, Leadbitter, Whitehead, Wallace, Jones, Cole
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has promised to ring the changes for this weekend's relegation six-pointer against Derby County following the embarrassing 7-1 thrashing at Everton. Keane is confident that Kenwyne Jones will be fit enough to play against the Rams despite suffering a rib injury at Goodison Park. The former Manchester United star told Sunderland's official website: "Kenwyne is full steam ahead and we picked up no more fresh injuries from the weekend. "There's a good chance I'll make one or two changes to freshen it up and give the lads who've been waiting in the wings an opportunity." However, Nyron Nosworthy (hamstring), Russell Anderson (ankle), Stanislav Varga (knee) and Kieran Richardson (back) are all expected to miss out. Saturday's game has become a must-win encounter for the Black Cats as the Everton defeat left them in the bottom three. Since beating Reading in mid-September, they have failed to win in eight matches, picking up only three points and conceding 20 goals. At least their record at the Stadium of Light is presentable, losing to only Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, while on their travels they have taken only two points from eight games. Rock-bottom Derby County will be hoping that the arrival of a new manager will revive their fortunes. Billy Davies was axed on Monday and, within 48 hours, former Wigan Athletic boss Paul Jewell had been presented as the Scot's successor. Jewell has a tough task lifting confidence at Pride Park though as County have failed to score in their last six Premier League matches, picking up only one point - at Fulham - in the process. They have a terrible away record, with the goalless draw at Craven Cottage being the only point they have secured away from Pride Park. They have still to score away from home and have conceded 19 goals, being thrashed by Tottenham (4-0), Liverpool (6-0) and Arsenal (5-0) in the process. A 5-0 drubbing at home to West Ham United three weeks ago even suggested the Rams could be on course to beat Sunderland's dismal record low points tally of 15 in the Premier League two seasons ago.
Substitute Anthony Stokes struck a last-gasp winner to save Sunderland's blushes against rock-bottom Derby County at the Stadium of Light. The Irishmen needed two bites of the cherry to apply the finishing touch after Rams keeper Stephen Bywater had pulled off an excellent double save. But the Black Cats striker hooked the ball over his shoulder and into the net to break Derby hearts in time added on at the end of the 90 minutes. It was more than the home side deserved but that won't worry boss Roy Keane who looked a mightily relieved man as the ball nestled in the back of the Derby goal. Keane dropped record signing Craig Gordon, striker Michael Chopra and defender Ian Harte as he rang the changes following last weekend's 7-1 drubbing at Everton. The Sunderland boss no doubt hoped that by bringing Darren Ward, Greg Halford and Andrew Cole into his side it would revitalise the team. However, it failed to have the desired effect as the Wearsiders laboured in front of goal and wasted possession in the middle of the park on far too many occasions. Ward did make one great save in the first half to deny Kenny Miller, tipping the Scot's goalbound effort onto the post. It was the Rams who looked the brighter of the two sides in the opening half although to be fair there wasn't much in it. Neither team really produced anything in the way of entertaining football with Miller's shot and a Kenwyne Jones strike which came back off the post the closest either side came to opening their account in the first half. In fact the game looked to be heading for a no-score bore draw before Stokes applied the finishing touch for Sunderland's goal. The result was harsh on County who find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table and in particular on Bywater who denied both Stokes and Jones in the build-up to the winner. Liam Miller's cross into the area was met by the head of Jones, but Bywater produced an excellent one-handed stop only for the ball to find Stokes. The former West Ham United keeper then somehow managed to get a hand to the Irish striker's header but, when the ball came back to Stokes, the Rams keeper could only look on in despair as the Sunderland forward hooked the ball over his shoulder and into the net. It was relief all round for the home supporters among the 42,380 crowd while the Derby fans must have felt like they had been mugged. A draw would have been a fair result as neither team deserved anything from a dreadful afternoon's football. On this showing it looks like it could be a long, hard and fruitless season for both Rams and Black Cats alike.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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