Source: Telegraph
Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse give Sunderland good chance of survival
Clean sheets are great but, deprived of firepower, the odd goalless draw will not be enough when relegation rivals start pinching wins. [LNB]That's why Sunderland stand a better chance than Newcastle of surviving, even if you ignore their three-point advantage. [LNB]Ricky Sbragia has something that Joe Kinnear does not – a potent strike force in the form of Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse, who opened the scoring. [LNB]That made it 11 goals from the pair in their 11 league starts together – an impressive record that, if continued, would almost certainly ensure another Premier League campaign at the Stadium of Light. [LNB]Keeping this pair fit, then, becomes paramount, hence the relief when the injury to Cisse, which forced him off, was found to be minor. [LNB]A good job, too, because the visitors were not the same when the Frenchman limped off, losing their way on the front foot. Before that, the power and pace of these two forwards kept Newcastle's centre-halves at full stretch. If one of them, Sebastien Bassong, hadn't played so well, the visitors might have been out of sight before half-time. [LNB]Jones and Cisse, in fact, are an unusual item in an era when partnerships have become fairly rare. The modern-day combination of rotation and one-man attacks has turned the old fashioned double act into a dying breed. [LNB]Go through the top flight and you'll find very few partnerships trip off the tongue, which is mainly down to the whim of managers searching for the right blend for a certain challenge. [LNB]Sbragia, however, has been fortunate enough to inherit a ready-made forward line, one he hasn't felt the need to break up. No wonder either. They're not supposed to be the best of friends off the pitch but that doesn't matter one bit if, on it, Jones and Cisse are prepared to work hard in tandem. [LNB]And they certainly were at St James' Park. Always in touch, they worked as a team rather than two individuals, with Cisse latching on more than once to a Jones flick. His goal actually came about from one such run, only this time, luckily, his team-mate didn't get a touch otherwise the linesman's flag would have been raised. [LNB]In fairness, that's happened too often this season to a player with enough pace to give defenders a yard. Nevertheless, if he carries on like this, Sunderland will surely be keen to turn his season-long loan from Marseille into something more permanent. [LNB]The future of Jones, after all, is already sorted. Following strong interest from Tottenham, the club rewarded him last week with a new contract. It's worth remembering as well that Sunday only marked the 24 year-old's 50th Premier League appearance. There should be a lot more to come from the Trinidad and Tobago international. [LNB]Newcastle, meanwhile, must get by for now with the honest efforts of Shola Ameobi and rookie Andy Carroll, both of whom did their bit in Newcastle's fightback. [LNB]Yet it goes without saying that the return of Michael Owen can't come quickly enough. It would be nice, too, if a fit and motivated Mark Viduka could play some part before May. [LNB]At least that would give the Toon Army a boost, the kind Sunderland are enjoying from their main men. [LNB]
