The 2018-19 edition of Sixer’s Sevens, in which Pete Sixsmith or a super-sub sums up each Sunderland game in seven words, gets properly under way today. Yes, he had a first pre-season friendly the other night, when Darlington beat us 1-0. But Pete may have been keeping one eye on news from St Petersburg, when France were beating Belgium by the same score, and offered only a Sixer’s Four – ‘a rather embarrassing defeat’ – so we made do with his Soapbox match report next day.
The game at the Victoria Ground was heading the same way until, with almost the last kick of the match, when our young Swedish prospect Benjamin Mbunga Kimpioka equalised. He’s having a great pre-season, with two hat-tricks for the Under 23s already. Their opener? ‘One down to sloppy defending,’ wrote Pete,’there’s a change then’.
So here we go with Pete’s first (written seconds before our goal) plus – for those not of a nervous disposition – a reminder of how Sixer and others captured each game last season. The squeamish should stop at the final game (when we improbably beat the champions, Wolves, 3-0) …
2018-19
Hartlepool United (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Yet to see anything to inspire confidence
2017-2018
6 May 2018 Sunderland 3 (2) Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (0) Good performance, just 45 games too late
27 April 2018* Fulham 2 (1) Sunderland 1 (1) Spirited performance thwarted by totally incompetent refereeing
21 April 2018 Sunderland 1 (1) Burton Albion 2 (0) Abysmal even by our utterly wretched standards
14 April Reading 2 (1) Sunderland 2 (0) *Going down fighting but still going down
and this from John Marshall at the Madejski *Good team performance but more poor defending
10 April Sunderland 1 (0) Norwich City 1 (0) Yet again far too many basic errors
7 April Leeds Utd 1 (0) Sunderland 1 (0) A moral victory but just not enough
2 April 2018 Sunderland 1 (0) Sheffield Wednesday 3 (0) Total inability to defend crosses equals relegation
30 March 2018 Derby County 1 (1) Sunderland 4 (2) And we were singing in the rain
17 March 2018 Sunderland 0 (0) Preston North End 0 (2) Worst performance yet in a dismal season
10 March 2018 QPR 1 (0) Sunderland 0 (0) Lack of Steele leads to inevitable defeat
6 March 2018 Sunderland 0 (0) Aston Villa 3 (2) Brown, Stokoe, Smith, Keane – watch and weep
3 March 2018 Milwall (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 * a) Unable to defend a lead, paid price … b) Oviedo superstrike not quite enough for win
24 February 2018 Sunderland 3 (1) Middlesbrough 3 (0) Rousing finale brings hope and a point
20 February 2018 Bolton Wanderers (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 0 No lack of effort; just lacking quality
17 February 2018 Sunderland 0 (0) Brentford 2 (2) Gets worse by the week. Relegation certs.
10 February 2018 Bristol City 3-3 Sunderland The most unlikely point of the season [but see what he was saying earlier]
3 February 2018 Sunderland 0 (0) Ipswich Town 2 (2) Comfortably beaten by an ordinary Ipswich side
30 January 2018 Birmingham City 3 (2) Sunderland 1 (0) *worked hard but just not good enough
20 Januaury 2018 Sunderland 1 (1) Hull City 0 (0) Young players give us hope. O’Shea magnificent
13 January 2018 Cardiff City 4 (0) Sunderland 0 (0) *Nothing positive in yet another shocking performance
6 January 2018 Middlesbrough 2 (2) Sunderland 0 (0) Our many weaknesses exposed far too easily
1 January 2018 Sunderland 0 (0) Barnsley 1 (0) Brand new year but same old rubbish
December 30 Nottingham Forest 0 (0) Sunderland (1) 1 Huge win which shows the players care
December 26 Sheffield United 3 (1) Sunderland 0 (0) Comprehensively beaten by a far superior side
December 23 Sunderland 1 (1) Birmingham City 1 (1) * Ten-man Brum hang on for a draw
December 16 Sunderland 1 (0) Fulham 0 (0) * Home win hoodoo over as Maja strikes
December 9 Wolverhampton Wanderers (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 0 *Tremendous defending earns a point at leaders
December 2 Sunderland 1 (0) Reading 3 (0) * Another day when basic errors prove costly
November 25 Burton Albion 0 (0) Sunderland 2 (0) Two goals, three points, and draught Bass
November 21 Aston Villa 2 (1) Sunderland 1 (0) Encouraging signs but need to be stronger
November 18 Sunderland 2 (1) Millwall 2 (2) An awful game compounded by comical goalkeeping
November 5 Middlesbrough 1 (1) Sunderland 0 (0) Bottom of the league and deservedly so.
October 31 Sunderland 3 (1) Bolton Wanderers 3 (3) Neither the result nor performance good enough
October 28 Sunderland 1 (1) Bristol City 2 (1) Hopeless and clueless. Add embarrassing to that.
October 21 Brentford 3 (1) Sunderland 3 (3) * Two in front yet lucky to survive
October 14 Sunderland (0) 1 Queens Park Rangers (1) 1 The elusive home win seems miles away
September 30 Preston North End (0) 2 Sunderland (1) 2 * Seriously entertaining and well worth the point
September 26 Ipswich Town 5 (2) Sunderland (1) 2 Sunderland’s defending plummets to unheard of depths
September 23 Sunderland 1 (0) Cardiff City 2 (1) Undoubtedly the worst Sunderland team I’ve watched
September 20 League Cup 3rd Round: Everton (1) 3 Sunderland (0) 0 * Never looked like scoring, let alone winning
September 16 Hull City 1 (0) Sunderland 1 (1) Hung on but not a sparkling performance
September 12 Sunderland 0 (0) Nottingham Forest 1 (o) Some improvement but we lack any punch
September 9 Sunderland 1 (0) Sheffield United 2 (1) no tactics, appalling team selection,
total embarrassment
August 26 Barnsley 3 (2) Sunderland 0 (0) Alarm bells clanging after a dreadful performance
August 22 League Cup: Carlisle United (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 2 Classy finish by Gooch masks scrappy performance
August 19 SAFC 0 (0) Leeds United 2 (1) Weaknesses exposed by a solid Leeds team
August 16 Sheffield Wednesday (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Looked tired in second half. Decent point
August 13 Norwich City 1 (0) Sunderland 3 (1) Very well organised and three cracking goals
August 8 League Cup: Bury 0 (0) Sunderland (0) 1 Hardly convincing but a win’s a win
August 4 2017 Sunderland (1) 1 Derby County (1) 1 Encouraging second half. Something to build on
Seven out of seven for loving devotion!