Source: Northern_Echo
Sunderland 1 Manchester City 0
Sunderland 1 Manchester City 0[LNB] IF the first two fixtures of the season left supporters fearing what might lie ahead on Wearside, Sunderland offered a reminder to the rest of the Premier League of just what they are capable of yesterday.[LNB] Courtesy of a clinical penalty from Darren Bent in the fourth minute of injury time, Manchester City left the Stadium of Light nursing a bruising defeat just six days after outclassing Liverpool.[LNB] By the time a largely ineffective Bent delivered, there was no way back for City.[LNB] Sunderland, for an inspirational second-half display in which they got the better of their title-chasing opponents, had secured their first league win of the season.[LNB] Manchester City had had their chances. Sunderland's summer signing between the posts, Simon Mignolet, made an incredible point-blank save to deny Emmanuel Adebayor late on, as well as thwarting the impressive Yaya Toure earlier in proceedings.[LNB] And while Carlos Tevez was guilty of wasting a glorious chance from eight yards in the first half, Sunderland looked the team with an eye on a topfour finish after the restart.[LNB] While Titus Bramble and Anton Ferdinand helped keep things tight at the back with a number of crucial clearances, Ahmed Elmohamady and Steed Malbranque were the main sources of attack down the flanks.[LNB] During an encounter when England wingers James Milner and Adam Johnson struggled to make an impact, their foreign counterparts, aided with the pace of substitute Danny Welbeck, proved the undoing of Roberto Mancini's team.[LNB] It is a victory that brings back memories of last season, when Sunderland beat Arsenal and Liverpool during nine months in which they only lost to Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa at home.[LNB] If Wearside is proud of the progress made under the chairmanship of Niall Quinn over the last four years, the transformation of their sky blue counterparts borders on meteoric.[LNB] It is two years ago this bank holiday weekend that the Abu Dhabi Group took over at Eastlands, sparking an incredible spending spree that has already topped the £1bn mark.[LNB] And while Quinn has overseen a handsome outlay on new players of around £95m in the past 24 months, there was a marked difference between the costs of the two teams yesterday.[LNB] City's starting XI arrived at a premium of almost £180m, almost four times more than that put together by Sunderland (£48m), which was also considerably less than the £94m bench Mancini had to call on.[LNB] What it boils down to, however, is the level of the desire shown by the two sets of players on each given day. And, hanging on to a record of just one home defeat this year, it was Sunderland who showed the greater will to win over the 90 minutes.[LNB] Jordan Henderson and Lee Cattermole, reunited in the middle for the first time since the latter's dismissal in the opening-day draw with Birmingham, were strong in the tackle, epitomising the determination within the squad.[LNB] But once Bent had glanced a header from Elmohamady's centre wide of Joe Hart's goal, Manchester City gradually took control of the first-half.[LNB] That matters little if the men presented with the opportunities are incapable of scoring, which is what Tevez was so embarrassingly guilty of after 15 minutes.[LNB] When Manchester City broke potently after thwarting Sunderland, Cattermole's missed challenge allowed Yaya Toure to stroll into the box. With Mignolet rushing out to meet him, Toure rolled the ball to Tevez and, with an empty net waiting, he lazily side-footed over the bar from eight yards.[LNB] It would have been a dreadful miss for a schoolboy, never mind a £30m-plus footballer, and that offered Sunderland encouragement, but the visitors' backline, well marshalled by Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure, was rarely broken.[LNB] There were two more great chances that went unconverted, with Tevez involved heavily in both. He let Fraizer Campbell whose ridiculous attempt at a crossfield pass fell to the Argentine off the hook by missing the target again, before watching Yaya Toure's shot blocked by Mignolet after his captain's through pass.[LNB] But on the whole Sunderland defended solidly, with Michael Turner and Bramble standing tall to anything that arrived in their direction.[LNB] On the one occasion it went wrong, Ferdinand flicked a Milner free-kick on and it fell kindly for the unmarked Yaya Toure, lurking at the back post, but Mignolet raced out to deny the Ivorian from seven yards.[LNB] After a well-documented bust-up with Bruce earlier this month, Ferdinand would have been sold before now had deals with Palermo and Fiorentina not broken down. Yesterday, however, he was hugely influential, particularly after being asked to slot into the heart of the defence when Turner had to make way through injury.[LNB] The introduction of Phil Bardsley and Welbeck, who replaced the injured Campbell, did lift Sunderland as an attacking force and had it not been for Hart's reflexes, City would have been behind.[LNB] When Elmohamady attacked down the right, the Egyptian's cross swirled in the wind and was destined for the top corner when England's No 1 dived high to his left to turn the ball away for a corner.[LNB] Elmohamady has settled into life well in the Premier League and his pace helped Sunderland to counter-attack on a number of occasions.[LNB] And when he darted past Gareth Barry with ease, the North African's pass to Welbeck eventually ended with the loan signing from Manchester United firing over after a linkup with Bent.[LNB] The most crucial moment was still to come.[LNB] When Milner delivered a corner to the back post, Micah Richards nodded down and Adebayor was left amazed when his backheeled volley from five yards was somehow palmed up and over the bar by Mignolet's left hand.[LNB] It was a save worthy of winning a match, never mind saving one, and his outfield teammates pushed forward in the hope of finding that elusive opener.[LNB] And, just when it seemed time had run out, Elmohamady delivered.[LNB] His delivery in to the penalty area led to Richards hauling down Bent and referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot.[LNB] After plenty of remonstrations from Richards and Kolo Toure, Bent picked himself up before delivering a precise low drive into the bottom left corner of Hart's net that left the Stadium of Light fans dancing to the tune of victory.[LNB] Matchfacts Goals: 1-0: Bent pen (90, struck the perfect spot-kick beyond Hart's outstretched left hand) Bookings: De Jong (87, foul); Richards (87, foul); K Toure (90, dissent) Referee: Mike Dean (The Wirral) - an official quite happy to keep his cards in his pocket for a full match; nearly, anyway 7 Attendance: 38,610 Entertainment: [LNB] SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): 8 Mignolet: Made a crucial save from Toure in the first half and an exceptional left-handed stop from Adebayor in the second; 7 Ferdinand: Composed at fullback and then at his best through the middle 7 Turner: Had defended solidly before a crunching tackle from Lescott left him unable to continue 8 BRAMBLE: Got in the way of everything that arrived in his direction and dealt with it well 7 Richardson: Might have struck a poor free-kick but everything else about his afternoon was bright; 8 Elmohamady: His pace turned defence into attack on a number of occasions, particularly after the restart 6 Cattermole: Handed possession away cheaply a few times but was strong in the tackle 7 Malbranque: Time and time again he had to hold up play and he achieved his tasks well 7 Henderson: Lively through the middle, never stopped running, which is becoming his trademark 5 Campbell: Had not been anywhere near his best and then had to be stretchered off after collision with Richards; 5 Bent: Never looked as comfortable leading the line as he would have liked.[LNB] Subs: Bardsley (for Turner 46): Doubts about his future only led to a professional display 6 Welbeck (for Campbell 46): Pace and energy caused problems for City 6 (not used): Carson (gk), Zenden, Riveros, Waghorn, Colback.[LNB] MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-2-1): Hart 7; Richards 6, K Toure 7, Kompany 7, Lescott 6 (Adebayor 75); De Jong 6, Y TOURE 8, Barry 5; Milner 5, Johnson 5 (Silva 81); Tevez (Jo 90). Subs (not used): Given (gk), Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Vieira.[LNB] MAN OF THE MATCH TITUS Bramble led an exceptional defensive display that kept Tevez, Johnson and Milner quiet[LNB]
