• Date: Sat 14 March 2009
  • Venue: Stadium of Light
  • Ref: Dean, M
  • Attendance: 39,266
Sunderland

Sunderland

Leadbitter (41)

1 - 2
Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic

Watson (12)

N'Zogbia (45)

Sunderland vs Wigan Athletic

Team Lineups

Sunderland

Marton Fulop
Tal Ben Haim (David Healy, 77)
Phil Bardsley
George McCartney
Danny Collins
Andy Reid (Daryl Murphy, 60)
Steed Malbranque (Carlos Edwards, 63)
Grant Leadbitter
Dean Whitehead
Djibril Cisse
Kenwyne Jones

Wigan Athletic

Chris Kirkland
Maynor Figueroa
Paul Scharner
Emmerson Boyce
Titus Bramble
Mario Melchiot
Luis Antonio Valencia
Charles N'Zogbia
Ben Watson
Michael Brown
Ahmed Hossam Mido (Amr Zaki, 84)


Live Text Commentary
Full time
 

Full-time: SUNDERLAND 1 - 2 WIGAN: That's the end of the game and it's three points for Wigan. The Sunderland fans aren't happy with their team.

90

Wigan gets to the ball ahead of Murphy after a cross from Jones. Could that be it?

90

Wigan are keeping the ball in the corner of the Sunderland half. The home side need to get the ball down the other end as quickly as possible.

90

Three minutes remaining for Sunderland to grab themselves an equaliser.

88

Some Sunderland fans are leaving the ground now. They feel the game has gone. It only takes a second to score though!

87

The resulting corner is played towards Collins, but Bramble heads the ball away. He has been a rock for Wigan today.

86

Edwards tries to place the ball into the path of Cisse after collecting the ball off Jones and manages to win a corner.

85

Wigan are five minutes away from recording their first victory in the Premier League since January 11th.

84
Substitution
 

Wigan make their first change of the game as Amr Zaki replaces Mido who takes an age to get off the pitch.

83

Sunderland are throwing everything at Wigan. This time Jones' header across the goal is crucially cleared by N'Zogbia.

82

Leadbitter whips the ball into the path of Murphy, but the substitute completely misses the ball instead of getting a shot away.

80

Sunderland are running out of time as Jones fires a half chance wide of the target. They need a moment of magic from someone.

79

Watson's corner falls to Figueroa who can only watch on as his shot is blocked by Collins before Sunderland clear the ball forward.

78

Fulop fumbles the ball under pressure from Valencia and concedes a corner. What on earth was he doing?

77
Substitution
 

Ben Haim is replaced by David Healy as Sunderland make their final change.

76

Jones plays Cisse through on goal, but not for the first time today, Kirkland is their to smother the ball and end the attack.

75

For the second time in this half, Sunderland have a goal ruled out for offside. This time it was Leadbitter who stabbed the ball home.

74

Murphy flicks on a long ball forward from Fulop only for Boyce to get there ahead of Cisse. Are Sunderland running out of ideas?

73

Whitehead and Collins exchange several passes, but they fail to get anywhere and they can't create a chance for their team.

72

There is some hope for Sunderland today as they have already scored 29% of their goals in the final ten minutes this season.

70

Murphy swings the ball into the penalty area only for it to be headed clear by Maynor Figueroa. Wigan are determined to hold onto this lead.

69

Cisse's header almost falls to Whitehead who made an excellent run, but Kirkland gets there first.

68

Scharner collects the ball off Mido before his curling shot goes comfortably over bar without testing Fulop.

67

Corner for Sunderland is whipped in by Edwards and even though Cisse gets himself in a scoring position, the referee saw a foul somewhere. Free-kick to Wigan.

66

Murphy attempts to flick the ball into the path of Cisse after a long ball forward, but Boyce cuts the header out and calmy clears the danger.

64

Mido - who has had very little of the ball today - attempts to get a cross into the box, but his first time effort goes out for a goal kick.

63

Bramble makes a very rare move forward only to knock the ball forward into the arms of Fulop. Nothing created there!

62
Substitution
 

Another change for Sunderland as Malbranque is replaced by Carlod Edwards.

61

Sunderland get the ball into the net, but the flag is up for offside.

60
Substitution
 

Sunderland make their first change of the game as Daryl Murphy replaces the hard-working Reid.

59

Malbranque threads yet another pass through, this time into the path of Jones who is stopped by Bramble.

58

Bramble's header back towards Kirkland puts the keeper under pressure, but he gets there just ahead of Cisse.

57

N'Zogbia threads the ball through to Scharner, but Fulop manages to save the shot with his feet. Wigan should have extended their lead.

56

Ricky Sbragia must be considering a couple of changes. They aren't creating anywhere near enough.

55

Malbranque looks to thread the ball through to Cisse, but Bramble is there to cut the pass out and clear the danger.

53

Sunderland are averaging a goal per game in the league this season. They need more than that to get a positive result today.

52

Whitehead runs with the ball down the right hand side before his curling cross just avades the waiting Cisse in the area.

51

Mido attempts an ambiyious over-head kick, but his effort goes comfortably over the bar. The flag had been raised anyway.

50

Corner for the away side is whipped in by Watson, but only as far as Whitehead at the near post who smashes the ball away.

49

There is no doubt that the crowd are very quiet at the beginning of this second half. They need the players to give them something to shout about.

48

Kirkland deals with another Sunderland cross well as he punches away a Reid free kick. He really is having a good game today.

47
Yellow Card
 

Melchiot is booked for a late challenge on Malbranque. No compaints there.

46

Leadbitter wastes an early chance to get a decent ball into the box as his cross is easily cleared by the Wigan defence.

Second half
 

The second half is underway - can Sunderland get themselves back on level terms or will Wigan hold on for the three points? We shall see...

Half time
 

Half-time: SUNDERLAND 1 - 2 WIGAN: That's the end of a very entertaining first half. Wigan hold a narrow lead.

45
Goal
 

SUNDERLAND 1 - 2 WIGAN: Right on the brink of half-time, N'ZOGBIA runs 60 yards before slotting the ball under the arms of Martin Fulop.

43

Mido and Watson exchange passes before the latter fires his shot over the bar. He should have done much better there.

42

That goal could be huge for Sunderland. The fans were getting restless, but have now been given a huge lift.

41
Goal
 

SUNDERLAND 1 - 1 WIGAN: The home side are back on level terms as LEADBITTER latches onto a Jones header before firing the ball home.

40

McCartney lobs the ball into the penalty area towards Jones only for Titus Bramble to head the ball away. Wigan are standing firm.

38

Malbranque finds Cisse in the penalty area with a clever ball, but the striker can't find the target with his shot.

37

McCartney and Reid exchange passes before the former is robbed of possession before he can get a cross in.

36

George McCartney attempts to knock a long ball forward into the path of Reid, but it is way too heavy and goes out for a goal kick.

35

The last few minutes have been very frantic and end to end. Sunderland will be happy enough with that, but they must create more in the final third.

33

Jones flicks the ball on to Cisse, but the Frenchman can't find any space and Scharner wins the ball off him.

32

The home side move quickly up the other end with purpose, but Reid's cross is collected by Kirkland. The final ball needs to improve for Sunderland.

30

Valencia shrugs off the challenge of McCartney before his cross is cleared by Collins as Sunderland break.

29

Malbranque stabs the ball into the path of Cisse who once again is stopped by a stretching Kirkland. Excellent save.

28

Wigan look to hit Sunderland on the break as Valencia pushes forward before firing a shot just wide of the post.

27

Reid gives the ball away to Melchiot at a crucial time and the fans showed their frustration. They aren't happy with what they have seen so far.

25

The fact that Sunderland have conceded first could prove very significant. They have only won once in the ten games they have gone behind in this season.

24

Reid wastes an excellent opportunity to cause Wigan problems as his free-kick is nowhere near any Sunderland players. The set pieces have been poor.

23

Sunderland are still on top of this game, but they aren't showing enough going forward. Cisse and Jones need more support.

21

Sunderland knock the ball over the top of the Wigan defence looking for the run of Jones. Boyce beats the striker to it though and hooks the ball away.

20

Cisse makes his way into the Wigan penalty area, but Emmerson Boyce is there to bring the attack to an end. Good defending.

19

Wigan will be confident of holding onto this lead as they have won 8 out of the 10 league games where they have taken the lead this season.

17

Excellent chance for Sunderland to equalise as Andy Reid's shot is well saved by Kirkland. The ball then falls to Malbranque, but the linesman's flag was up.

16

Steed Malbranque looks to make something happen with a placed through ball, but nobody gets on the end of it and Kirkland collects.

14

The Wigan players seem much more confident now as Valencia pushes forward with purpose. Will they look to shut up shop now?

12
Goal
 

SUNDERLAND 0 - 1 WIGAN: Against the run of play, Wigan take the lead as WATSON places the ball into the bottom corner of the net after the ball fell to him 20 yards out.

12

Phil Bardsley finds some space on the right hand side before whipping the ball in only for Kirkland to be there once again.

11

Paul Scharner does well to take on Danny Collins, but Leadbitter eventually gets the better of the Wigan man as he slides in to win the ball.

9

After a rather frantic start, the game has settled down somewhat now. Wigan will be concerned at the amount of possession Sunderland have had though.

8

First corner of the game is taken short to Leadbitter who only manages to find the hands of Chris Kirkland with his eventual cross.

6

Leadbitter wins the ball and sets Djibril Cisse away, but the striker's early shot is well wide of the target. Perhaps he should have squared that to Dean Whitehead in the middle.

5

Charles N'Zogbia finds some space on the left wing, but his cross just avades the sliding Luis Antonio Valencia at the back post.

4

First attack for the away sides ends when Marton Fulop comfortably collects a high cross from Ben Watson.

3

Jones and Leadbitter combine once again before the latter knocks a ball into the box only for Mario Melchiot to firmly head away.

2

Kenwyne Jones pushes forward for the home side and finds Grant Leadbitter in space, but he takes too many touches and loses the ball.

1

Neither of these teams are in the best form going into this game. It's two points out of nine for Sunderland and no win in eight for Wigan.

Kickoff
 

They are under way at the Stadium of Light with both teams looking for three points to consolidate their position in mid-table.