Pete Sixsmith texted at half time that there wasn’t much happening and Wycombe looked comfortable. Half an hour later he was texting to say that we had much to do.
Did we do it?yes and no – enough to keep our unbeaten at home record, not enough to keep another clean sheet and not enough to win.
And his final seven word text suggests that’s fair enough:
Nov 17 Sunderland 1 (0) Wycombe Wanderers 1 (0) A fair result after a disappointing performance
Nov 13 Morecambe 0 (0) Sunderland 1 (0) Left it late but the run continues
Nov 11 Port vale 1 (1) Sunderland 2 (2) Negotiated a tricky tie successfully. Southport next?
Nov 3 Plymouth Argyle (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 2* Solid team performance earns another away win*
Oct 27 Sunderland 3 (1) Southend United 0 (0) Three goals and another clean sheet. Great
Oct 23 Doncaster Rovers 0 Sunderland 1 (0) Winning ugly is just fine by me.
Oct 20 Shrewsbury Town 0 (0) Sunderland 2 (0) A comfortable win that just oozed professionalism
Oct 6 Bradford City 1 (0) Sunderland 2 (1) Great win but Power made it difficult
Oct 2 Sunderland 2 (1) Peterborough 2 (0) Good point but spoiled by woeful refereeing
Sept 29 Coventry City (0) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Fair result that could have been worse
Sept 22 Sunderland 4 (3) Rochdale 1 (0) Fifteen minute purple patch wrapped this up
Sept 15 Burton Albion 2 (2) Sunderland 1 (o) Weaknesses horribly exposed in a deserved defeat
Sept 8 Sunderland 1 (1) Fleetwood Town 1 (1) Huffed and puffed against very difficult opponents
Sept 4 Sunderland 0 (0) [4] Stoke City U21s 0 (0) [2] *Decent workout for young guns and recoverees
Sept 8 Sunderland A (a) Fleetwood Town B (b)
Sept 1 Sunderland 1 (0) Oxford United 1 (1 ) Poor first half, dug in well second
Aug 19 Sunderland 3 (3) Scunthorpe United 0 (0) Iron pummeled as three lusty blows delivered
Aug 16 Carabao Cup: Sunderland (0) 0 Sheffield Wednesday (1) 2 Result disappointing but plenty to enthuse about
Aug 11 Luton Town (0) 1 Sunderland (1) 1 Played well in patches against solid opposition
Aug 4 Sunderland (0) 2 Charlton Athletic (1) 1 A great day for club and academy
July 21 St Mirren (0) 0 Sunderland (2) 6 * Cracking results like this will suit fine
July 17 Grimsby Town (0) Sunderland (1) 1 *Gooch’s header from Maguire’s cross settles matters
July 14 Hartlepool United (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 1 Yet to see anything to inspire confidence
July 10 Darlington (1) 1 Sunderland (0) 0 Embarrassing
Spot on verdict. My impression was that we didn’t play with the freedom we have away from home and that perhaps some of our players “froze” in front of our large support. Speaking of which, if only the unequivocal passion of our away fans could transmit to the “wait and see” home fans. And don’t give me the “what the home fans have suffered in the past” line; I’ve been there – home and away!
Away supporters almost always appear more vocal than home fans at most clubs. It’s partly to do with the passion of those who are prepared to travel, partly to do with the fact that away fans who make a noise are all in a smaller space and the “we are in a minority” factor – except at Morecambe!
But I know where you are coming from.
A fair result even if a tad disappointing. Credit though to step up in the second half and get a deserved equaliser. On another day maybe nick a winner though on a previous day we may well have folded at 0-1.
My thoughts? Happy with the back five. We’re a better team with Catts playing. Sinclair won’t score goals and there’s no-one to feed off him. Power perked up a listless midfield and McGeouch, while unglamorously industrious, hasn’t got a forward pass in him.
Credit to Wycombe for a deserved point and we’ll have to sharpen up.
It wasn’t the best with disappointing performances from several players but they never gave up and nearly got all three points. On the balance of play that would have been harsh on Wycombe who deserved something from the game and came to compete.
Sometimes in our disappointment we fail to acknowledge the fact that our opponents deserve credit for the way they played.
Wycombe didn’t make it easy for us and while I’d have to say we weren’t at our best today I’m happy that we are disappointed not to win instead of being relieved that we haven’t lost.
It was a very listless performance, not helped by a very officious ref who blew for every challenge (both sides) but failed to get to grips with blatant time wasting. But, on the positive side ,another game unbeaten and we fought back till the end . Win six and draw one – I’ll be happy with that till the end of the season