Malcolm Dawson writes……..David Corner came out to do the half time draw and I said to the bloke behind me how it must be galling to be remembered by many for one moment of indecisiveness, one error of judgement. I was reminded of David Corner on Saturday when PvA’s failure to hit row Z cost us a point. It must be especially galling when there was a missed penalty in that same match but few talk about that as the moment that cost us a trophy.
So at the end of the season will we talk about van Aanholt’s error against West Ham and forget about Jermain Defoe’s missed opportunities. If we stay up this season will we look back at Fabio Borini’s fantastic strike as a moment that saved us from going down or will we see this match as two points dropped that cost us Premier League survival? This was a case of quiet optimism at half time after a reasonable first 45 but resignation in the second that here was another missed opportunity. Those two young lads who sit alongside me learned a real football lesson today. Never leave before the end no matter how down you might be. There will always be the possibility of a twist in the tail. And so it proved today.
If we do go down then I’ll think how bad we were against Norwich, especially if they finish a point or two above us. This evening we showed flashes but also defensive frailties that have been there all season and which Sam is supposed to be sorting out. Can we get out of this mess with Defoe ploughing a lone furrow up front? Not in my view but it’s the manager’s that counts. Here’s how he saw the Palace game in his post match e-mail to M Salut and a few other red and white stalwarts.
SUNDERLAND 2 CRYSTAL PALACE 2