Source: Northern_Echo
Manchester United 2 Sunderland 2
FOR the second season in succession, Sunderland hearts were broken by the concession of a stoppage-time goal at Old Trafford.
But while Anton Ferdinands 92nd-minute own goal might have mirrored Nemanja Vidics last-gasp winner last December in terms of dramatic intensity, everything else about the two occasions had changed.
If last seasons rearguard action was an act of defiance by a team in turmoil, Saturdays dominant display was the clarion call of a club that has taken giant strides forward in the last nine months.
Where there was uncertainty last winter, with Ricky Sbragia managing on a caretaker basis and chairman Niall Quinn desperately attempting to secure the investment he needed to shore up the club, now there is permanence, with Steve Bruce exploiting Ellis Shorts financial strength to assemble a side capable of competing with the Premier League elite.
The sense of deflation as Manchester United scored yet another last-minute goal might have been unchanged, but this time around it was tempered by a pride in the progress that has been made, and a justified excitement about what might lie in store in the future. In the weeks and months to come, this might well be remembered as the moment when Bruces newlook Sunderland came of age.
I think weve improved, said the Black Cats boss, after goals from Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones threatened to produce the clubs first win at Old Trafford since 1968. Weve made some huge changes.
Fifteen players have gone out and seven have come in. I hope the improvement is there. Its a sign of where were headed, and the longer we get together, the more Im sure well improve. It doesnt just happen overnight, but I think you can see that the signs are looking better. Im delighted with that performance, and its another step in the right direction. They were men out there, and they had to be, in terms of taking the ball and playing. They were terrific, and weve improved. I just hope we keep on doing that now.
The improvement was apparent in Sunderlands performance, undoubtedly their most impressive of the season, but the 3,000 supporters that packed out the away end at Old Trafford will also point to Bruces team selection as proof that they are now following a club that believes it is capable of competing against any side in the league.
Eschewing the now-familiar tactic of damage limitation, Bruce boldly opted to play with two strikers up front, supported by attacking players Andy Reid and Steed Malbranque from the wide midfield positions. The result was a boldness of approach that knocked a strangely off-colour Manchester United from their stride, and almost produced the shock of the season.
The dilemma when you play at Manchester United is always whether or not to play with two strikers, but I thought the bravery paid off, said Bruce.
It did, but only because Sunderlands players played to a high enough standard to make the positive policy work. Ferdinand and Phil Bardsley, both returning after failing to appear in last weekends win over Wolves, were excellent, but it was noticeable that the best displays came from the newly-assembled spine that Bruce constructed so painstakingly over the summer.
Michael Turner was immense at the heart of the defence, winning countless headers and restricting Wayne Rooney to the occasional flurry from outside the area. Lorik Cana and Lee Cattermole dominated the heart of midfield to the extent that Paul Scholes was withdrawn at half-time to prevent any further embarrassment. And Bent extended his rampant scoring spree with his seventh goal in eight Sunderland games.
Thanks to some assiduous work in the transfer market, the Black Cats now boast a genuine goal threat allied to some midfield steel. It is a combination that should stand them in good stead for the rest of the season.
I always believe the spine of the team has to be strong, and you dont have to be Einstein to see what weve tried to do, said Bruce. Weve tried to put a physical presence in there, with a bit of tenacity and fire. I thought on this occasion, it worked.
The fire was certainly evident in the seventh minute, as Sunderland claimed a shock, yet even at that stage deserved, lead. Cattermole guided an incisive pass to Bent, and after turning inside John OShea, the Black Cats in-form marksman drilled a precise low drive into the bottom left-hand corner. In front of the watching Fabio Capello, it was yet another example of his predatory strengths. Yet it still wasnt enough to convince the Italian to include Bent in his England squad.
Normally, that would have been the cue for a spell of incessant Manchester United pressure, but with Sunderland refusing to sit back and cede territory to their opponents, the hosts failed to record a single shot on target in the whole of the first half. Reid rightly survived a penalty appeal when the ball struck him on the chest, but the champions conjured a goal from nothing six minutes after the break.
Craig Gordon saved from Rooney, but after Ferdinand cleared to OShea, the full-back crossed for Dimitar Berbatov to fashion a magnificent overhead volley that gave Sunderlands goalkeeper no chance.
The visitors might well have been deflated at that stage, but to their credit, they responded with another goal of their own seven minutes later.
Having played a well-worked one-two with Jones, Reid chipped an inviting cross into the area.
Ben Foster, an England goalkeeper by name alone, came off his line and got nowhere near it, and Jones nonchalantly headed the ball into the gaping net.
Suddenly, the unthinkable was back on, but Sunderlands task became infinitely harder when Kieran Richardson was dismissed with five minutes to go. Having been booked for a body-check on Danny Welbeck, the makeshift full-back needlessly kicked the ball away after referee Alan Wiley spotted a foul on Antonio Valencia.
It was stupid, said Bruce. Weve all done daft things in the heat of the moment, but when you come to Old Trafford, its bad enough with 11 men, let alone ten. It was a silly thing to do, and it might have cost us the game.
It certainly looked that way seven minutes later. With the clock having ticked past the 92nd-minute mark, Sunderland struggled to clear Uniteds sixth corner in six minutes. Patrice Evra drilled the ball across the face of goal, and Ferdinands outstretched boot diverted it past Gordon.
