Bruce won’t turn his back on any more penalties

28 September 2009 10:30
STEVE Bruce admitted he thought Darren Bent had scored a hat-trick in Sunderlands 5-2 win over Wolves, and the Sunderland manager was quick to castigate his record signing when he realised he had passed on penalty-taking duties to Kenwyne Jones.[LNB] Having scored the Black Cats opening goal of the afternoon from the spot, Bent looked poised to double his tally when Christophe Berra fouled him in the area at the start of the second half.[LNB] However, rather than putting the ball on the spot, Bent handed it to Jones to enable his strike partner to double Sunderlands lead.[LNB] Jones duly scored, and Bent secured the Wearsiders fourth Premier League win of the season when he added a second goal of his own in the 90th minute, courtesy of a hefty deflection off Michael Mancienne.[LNB] Bruce admits the quality of Sunderlands attackers was the difference between the hosts and a Wolves side who gave as good as they got for long periods, but was furious at Bents willingness to pass up his second opportunity from the spot.[LNB] I didnt know what had happened,[LNB] said the Black Cats boss. I only found out afterwards heres me thinking Bent had scored a hat-trick.[LNB] I have this stupid superstition that I dont watch penalties, but I can promise that wont happen again. Thats the mentality we have to change, we dont just throw the ball to somebody else because he wants to score a goal.[LNB] Thats something you do on a pitch with your mates, not in the Premier League. Bent is one of the best penalty-takers in the country, so I can promise you that will not be happening in the future.[LNB] The quality of Bent and Jones attacking masked some glaring deficiencies at the other end of the field, as Sunderland struggled to repel Wolves strikers Kevin Doyle and Andy Keogh.[LNB] The result was a seven-goal thriller, and while Bruce admits his sides defending left a lot to be desired with John Mensah and Paulo Da Silva both struggling on their first Premier League start, the Sunderland boss was happy with his sides efforts in attack.[LNB] I dont think any of us can make any sense of it, it was one of those crazy games, said Bruce.[LNB] I suppose if youre a neutral youll have seen a decent spectacle, but as a manager its a bit unreal. Its difficult to put into terms, but the one thing I will say is that up front, we have a cutting edge when Bent and Jones are like that. They were always an outlet.[LNB] Im not feeling like I normally do if weve won by three goals. Everybody makes a mistake, but when we have a wobble, we must have something within us to see that wobble through.[LNB] Its a big club here with big expectations, and we have to be able to handle that. Thankfully, we responded and saw it through.[LNB] Mick McCarthy is still searching for his first Premier League victory at the Stadium of Light, but the Wolves boss claims he is still trying to work out how his side failed to win yesterdays game, let alone finish on the wrong end of a threegoal defeat.[LNB] I dont know where the swingometer is between pleasing and frustrating, but it would have been swinging so much from side to side that it would have been pushed to breaking point, he said.[LNB] It was a harsh scoreline, but there were incidents during the game that made that happen.[LNB] The third goal was the killer.[LNB] We had the game by the scruff of the neck, but our centre- backs didnt deal with things.[LNB] We really played well, but the result tells everything. We made too many mistakes.[LNB] Sunderland were drawn at home to Aston Villa in Saturdays draw for the fourth round of the Carling Cup. The game will take place in the week beginning Monday, October 26.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo