Sunderland 3 Everton 0
If football is the industry of schadenfreude it can rarely feel any better for Sunderland given the implications of this win and what it means not only for themselves but the ramifications elsewhere. Their status as a Premier League club is preserved for another season and the jubilation was no doubt all the sweeter because of the malicious sense of pleasure from seeing Newcastle go down at their expense.
They were euphoric moments inside a noisy, cackling stadium and Sam Allardyce, taking the crowd’s acclaim with outstretched arms, can reflect on another impressive feat of escapology to add to his portfolio of achievement.
Sunderland had taken only three points from their opening eight games when Allardyce inherited Dick Advocaat’s side in October but they have improved steadily and lost only one of their last 10 fixtures. Three of the last five have been won and, once the goals started flying in, their final assignment was a relatively stress-free match, equalling their biggest win of the season. The soundtrack for the night was “Are you watching Newcastle?” and the Stadium of Light was the happiest it has been for a long time.
Allardyce may even be entitled to think his team should probably have made it an even more punishing occasion for Everton, on another night that leaves the inescapable feeling Roberto Martinez must be on borrowed time. All three goals came from set pieces – first, Patrick van Aanholt’s free-kick followed by two goals for Lamine Kone from badly defended corners – and it must have been startling for Everton’s supporters to see their team outplayed by a side who have spent large parts of the season in the relegation quicksands.
Everton were certainly generous opponents for a team with Sunderland’s requirements. Martinez’s side have won only seven out of their 30 games since September 28th and what a damning indictment of their manager that six have been against teams in the bottom five.
Martinez’s job has to be vulnerable, to say the least, and it must have been startling for their supporters to see the way a team lacking confidence and leadership crumpled in the late stages of the first half.
Until that point Sunderland had looked inhibited by their own nerves, the crowd were apprehensive and Everton, to give them their due, did not look quite so anaemic as in their previous away fixtures at Leicester and Liverpool. Yet there was still enough disorganisation in defence for the home team to go in at half-time in a position of command. These kind of flaws have become a recurring theme for Everton and, perhaps most worryingly for Martinez, there is absolutely no sign of it getting any better.
Sunderland’s first goal came direct from a free-kick, almost 25 yards out, and it was a personal ordeal for Joel Robles given that Van Aanholt’s shot went almost straight down the middle. Robles had taken a step to his left, completely wrong-footing himself for what ought to have been a routine save, and the ball flew into the space the goalkeeper had deserted.
Other questions will have to be asked about the flimsiness in Everton’s defensive wall and, as the tension in the stands was suddenly released and the volume went up, Sunderland benefited again from more generous play. This time Robles turned Jermain Defoe’s header over the frame of the goal and from the corner Leighton Baines cleared the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Yann M’Vila headed it back and Kone was suddenly alone, six yards out, volleying the ball with considerable force into the roof of the net.
Ten minutes into the second half, Defoe had another chance, clipping his shot over Robles only for John Stones to dash back and make a fine goalline clearance. Sunderland had another corner and when Wahbi Khazri swung it over from the left Robles misjudged the trajectory of the ball towards his near post. The goalkeeper managed to stop it from going straight in but the ball ricocheted off James McCarthy and fell kindly to Kone. He was unmarked, only a couple of yards out, and hooked his shot into an exposed goal.
Sunderland could now start to enjoy themselves, knocking the ball around confidently and seemingly not content to sit on their lead. Defoe, in particular, looked eager to get in on the act. No other player has contributed more richly to Sunderland’s survival, with almost a third of their league goals, and the striker was a frequent danger for the beleaguered Everton defence.
Everton did create some chances in the final stages, most notably a Stones header Vito Mannone clutched low down and a stoppage-time shot from Kevin Mirallas, but this was Sunderland’s night and their crowd made sure to dedicate it to the team just up the road.
(Guardian service)
