John McCormick writes: asPete Sixsmith notes, I’m making a long awaited trip up to the NorthEast this weekend where, instead of my customary seat behind the north end goal, I’ll be joining him in the East Stand. After the Bolton debacle I was wondering about the trip and how the team would fare. Last night’s result – on away turf and against a Premier League side – has nicely set up my visit and the anticipation that goes with it.
Stop Press: and it’s another away game in the next round: hardly a glamour tie but at Oxford United, once again testing our (present) owners’ loyalties
Monsieur Salut writes: bravo Max Power, bravo the Lads.
It’s one of the traditions of Salut! Sunderland that Pete Sixsmith supplies a seven-word instant verdict – hence Sixer’s Sevens – after each SAFC game. If he doesn’t attend the match himself, someone else steps in. Tonight, he was indeed present (I have happy memories of meeting up with Pete before Bramall Lane on Boxing Day 2017; it was happy until 3pm since the Blades hammered us 3-0 and we were probably lucky to get nil).
Tonight started better and stayed better. Having barely seen the ball, we went ahead early with a wonder strike from Max Power (‘a beauty’, said Pete’s text message) after nine minutes. At half time, he was applauding an ‘inspired’ first 45 minutes. The Lads saw out the game in reasonable comfort and might have scored again; the super-critical Gary Bennett spoke of how well Sunderland had for once managed a lead.
And see how Sixer summed up the game with two versions of his seven allotted words (to be followed by his customary full analysis tomorrow) …
Jake: ‘Gan canny lads, at this rate we might end up at Wembley again’
Monsieur Salut writes: most of us like a good cup run. We may not turn up in big numbers any more for games in the early rounds but interest builds as each obstacle is cleared. As Wembley looms and interest turns to excitement, we even start to care about winning something as mundane as the Checkatrade Trophy.
So to Bramall Lane and the Football League Cup third round tie at Sheffield United.
We naturally consider ours to be a bigger club than theirs and historically that is hardly a controversial belief. But as things stand, they are a Premier League side – on merit – and we are striving for promotion from two divisions lower.
John McCormick writes: Two seasons ago I was at Bolton to witness a torrid game, where we could not neither keep a clean sheet nor score against a Bolton side that were pretty much useless. We went down a few weeks later; they stayed up. Now fortune brings us together with situations near enough reversed. We have survived financially, rebuilt and (allegedly) are poised to mount a challenge for promotion. They have survived but that’s about it and few can see them staying up.
So we should have wellied them, shouldn’t we? But we are Sunderland, and we all know what that means. Cue Pete Sixsmith, also there last time, to tell us how things have changed
However you look at it, this was a poor day in Lancashire.
Gary Bennett was not happy. The crowd was not happy and Pete Sixsmith was not happy. His series of texts throughout the game read…”a dismal first half, support not happy and unlikely to change”, then after Wyke came on for Maguire “the crowd have turned on the manager” and as the 4th official indicated 5 minutes of stoppage time, with the score still 1-0 to Bolton he sent his 7 word summary with the p.s. “whatever the result.” One minute later we got a penalty which McGeady converted with more confidence than his midweek effort. There then followed another text “McGeady penalty changes nothing”. It did, but not in relation to his verdict,. which we print below although there was still time for another text as the full time whistle sounded….”grand larceny of the highest order.
Click on the image above, post your scoreline prediction
Just for fun, we have taken to saying about our regular slot inviting readers to predict Sunderland scorelines, says Monsieur Salut.
It hasn’t been much fun being a Bolton Wanderers fan. The club almost driven out of existence and all those goals shipped. I have no idea as I write on Monday morning, before a week’s break, whether they will go into our game buoyed by a midweek win at home to Oxford United – or how we did against Rotherham.
But gallows humour comes easily to Sunderland supporters and even before last Saturday’s latest walloping for Bolton – 6-1 away, almost inevitably to our own midweek opponents, Rotherham – one was moping at Twitter that Wanderers would probably start their revival against us.
(Of course we now know both teams came away with a point in midweek, Bolton claiming they were unlucky not to take all three whilst those who saw or heard or followed our game in some other way can’t help but feel we dropped two points after the perfect start against the South Yorkshire side. Bolton of course brought in nine players on the last day of the transfer window and those players will now be getting up to speed, so we are unlikely to be facing the Trotters’ U18 side. This on paper should make it a tougher ask for our boys and my own personal opinion is that the wave of negativity surrounding a club that has still only lost 6 of its last 54 league games can’t be doing anything to help. The fact we are playing away might take some pressure of our boys but even if we emulate Ipswich, Rochdale, Tranmere and Gillingham by sticking five past Wanderers it won’t stop some saying we should have done better. MD)
It was almost half-time when I realised Pete Sixsmith had not checked in from the Stadium of Light. That’s almost as surprising as a penalty miss at home, or not conceding in the first 45 minutes. Checks with Malcolm and Colin revealed all was well; Malcolm suggested “nervy finish after 20 minutes of dominance” for a half-time summary while Colin forwarded a text from the man himself: “great start but haven’t built on it”
Some time during the second half normal service was resumed in more ways than one. Pete sent a text which got through – “equaliser arrived after the usual appalling defending”.
And that’s how the game finished, leaving us on exactly the same number of points as at the same stage last season, but with a worse goal difference and no clean sheets, and a final seven words from Pete:
Here’s a quick warm up for tonight’s main event. Another game against another Yorkshire club.
Not as important, perhaps, but it gives us a glimpse of some players who might yet grace the famous grounds of the English Football League such as Roots Hall, Adams Park, Highbury, The Kassam three sided, The New Meadow and the Stadium of Light.
A good result at Accrington Stanley propelled Sunderland back into the top six.
Isn’t the mark of a successful side at any level that it wins even when not playing that well, Monsieur Salut asks?
On to Rotherham at home. Who will win? By what score? Tell us below – I am sorry but we are still in just-for-fun mode, but that will change if Salut! Sunderland‘s fortunes change.
Pete Sixsmith gives us value for money on yet another trip across the Pennines.
He sent a pre-match text telling us he had arrived on a warm afternoon, followed that with texts commenting on woeful defending – both ours and theirs – then gave us a seven word text telling us about the first half – “Stuttered at start but superior at end”.
Then he capped this with a final seven word text as the whistle blew to set the scene for Tuesday and also for tomorrow’s match report.
Colin Randall 
John McCormick writes: Two seasons ago I was at Bolton to witness a torrid game, where we could not neither keep a clean sheet nor score against a Bolton side that were pretty much useless. We went down a few weeks later; they stayed up. Now fortune brings us together with situations near enough reversed. We have survived financially, rebuilt and (allegedly) are poised to mount a challenge for promotion. They have survived but that’s about it and few can see them staying up.
Malcolm Dawson writes:
Here’s a quick warm up for tonight’s main event. Another game against another Yorkshire club.
Pete Sixsmith gives us value for money on yet another trip across the Pennines.