Source: Northern_Echo
Scharner strikes to pile misery on Sunderland
CONCERNS are growing on Wearside after Sunderland's winless run extended to eight matches with another sorry defeat against revitalised West Bromwich Albion.[LNB] Boos and jeers greeted the final whistle at the Stadium of Light after nearly 40,000 had tried to lift the hosts - as the Black Cats head in to the final six matches of the season with increased worries about the drop.[LNB] Twice West Brom came from behind before Paul Scharner's low winner 18 minutes from time was enough to extend the visitors' revival to seven matches without defeat.[LNB] Danny Welbeck went close in injury-time to pulling Sunderland level, but it would have been harsh on a West Brom team that had controlled the second half.[LNB] The small consolation for Steve Bruce's men, however, is that the gap to the bottom three remains six points and they sit 13th, although three of the teams below them have games in hand.[LNB] Sunderland went ahead inside ten minutes and it looked at that stage as if Bruce's decision to rest Jordan Henderson, Stephane Sessegnon and Sulley Muntari was going to reap its rewards.[LNB] Asamoah Gyan found space down the right and whipped over a dangerous centre which was turned beyond West Brom goalkeeper Scott Carson by Nicky Shorey under pressure from Ahmed Elmohamady.[LNB] And even when the visitors' Peter Odemwingie pounced on Jonas Olsson's flick on to stroke West Brom level just before the half hour, Sunderland still reacted well and regained the lead quickly.[LNB] It took less than two minutes for Phil Bardsley to power an unstoppable 22-yard free-kick high above Scott Carson with the help of Odemwingie's back.[LNB] But after that it was all about the spirit in the West Brom camp. It would have been easy to cave in after conceding the second, but instead it was Sunderland that did that.[LNB] Nine minutes after half-time a free-flowing move that was allowed to happen by the Sunderland defence saw the Baggies level.[LNB] Chris Brunt, Steven Reid and Odemwingie all played their part before the latter's pass inside the Youssuf Mulumbu ended with the midfielder finding Simon Mignolet's bottom right corner.[LNB] And then with 18 minutes left Roy Hodgson's team deservedly claimed the lead for the first time and never really looked like losing it.[LNB] It was more lazy defending, with Sunderland failing to track many of West Brom's movers and midfielder Scharner arrived in the area to side-foot Odemwingie's square pass inside Mignolet's bottom left.[LNB] SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Mignolet; Onuoha, Turner, Mensah (Ferdinand 11 (Sessegnon 78)), Bardsley; Elmohamady, Cattermole, Richardson (Zenden 46), Malbranque; Welbeck, Gyan. Subs: Gordon (gk), Henderson, Muntari, Colback.[LNB] WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-4-2): Carson; Reid, Meite, Olsson, Shorey; Thomas, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt (Morrison 78); Odemwingie (Tamas 90), Cox (Fortune 86). Subs: Cech, Myhill (gk), Vela, Jara.[LNB]
