Salut! Sunderland readers are generally too sensible to get carried away, says Monsieur Salut. Maybe because I need something to take the mind off Sunday, I cannot get enough of the post-Chelsea reflections. Keir Bradwell has been on detention, aka a wifi-free Center Parcs break (do they really spell it that way?), but keeps promising his ratings, now amounting to a mini-backlog. While we wait, here is what our old friend Rob Hutchison made of it. I love his opening three words as much as anything that follows them …
I was there.
Struggling to remember a better away day in recent memory.
Tons of neutrals in our end. A steward told me we only sold just over 1,000 tickets so rest must have gone to tourists through London ticket agencies. One clown and his missus sitting in front of me taking photos all game through his iPad. A few knees in the back in the final 10 minutes put him back in his box fortunately.
No match report, but some quick thoughts . . . .
Apparently JoS is quoted somewhere that Poyet’s team talk at half time urged them to go on and “be that team” to end JM’s unbeaten home run.
Wickham great. Played on through a knock/tweak. Getting stronger and you can see the goals are giving him self-belief. Fans sang his name as he was subbed. Never thought I’d hear that.
Vito fantastic again, but as always not without flappy moments. One incident when he rushed out and had to head the ball clear. Almost caught in no man’s land and took a knock for his troubles.
Centre backs excellent apart from the Eto goal. Larsson MOTM. Ran his pipe out again.
Jozy won a header and a penalty, but not much else. No competition between him and CW at present.
Pitch at the Shed End was like a greasy skid pan all afternoon; about time the breaks went for us with the slip for Jozy’s penalty run.
During a stoppage in play on the hour, Borini was wandering near the dugouts and Jose went over to him and shook his hand (ex Chelsea youth player). No one else seems to notice but rather prophetic that he should put the penna home to win it for us.
Alonso kicked the ball into our upper tier at FT so a very happy Mackem walked away with the match ball.
It took ages to leave the Bridge such was the party going on in the away end and in the stairwells. Can’t remember anything quite like it. Very emotional moments.
Means nothing if we don’t deliver in the final four games.
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Suggest Gus’s team talk before Sunday is “We go again”….
Or has that been used before?