malcolm

Born in Hetton le Hole, deputy editor Malcolm Dawson's first game at Roker Park was the three all draw with Leicester City at the beginning of the 64-65 season. Having spent more than thirty years living in the East Midlands, he was Chairman and Information Officer of the Heart of England Branch of the Supporters' Association but has now returned to live in County Durham.

Sixer’s Travels: Ozzies rampant, Sunderland dormant

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Sixer wonders why Michael Portillo never travels by First Trans Pennine not so Express
Sixer wonders why Michael Portillo never travels by First Trans Pennine not so Express

Friday night saw Peter Sixsmith in attendance at the first Northern League game to be played at Consett’s new Belle View ground and Saturday saw him forgo his usual Saturday footy fix for the lure of the Rugby League World Cup Final at Old Trafford, leaving it to Super Sub Bob Chapman to step off the Salut! Sunderland bench.

Last weekend although England had run the Kiwis close, they lost to the last kick of the match, meaning it was the 13 man equivalent of the All Blacks that would face up to the mighty Kangaroos. Pete booked his ticket months ago and put his disappointment to one side to root for the underdogs. The result wasn’t to his liking and neither was the journey there or back. Still he managed to catch MOTD and reflects on what he saw at the end of a long day, at Old Trafford and on the Saturday night highlights package.

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Sixer’s Sevens: Aston Villa 0 SAFC 0 – clean sheet stops the rot

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Jake says "nowts apiece!"
Jake says “nowts apiece!”

With Pete Sixsmith indulging his passion for Rugby League at the World Cup Final at Old Trafford today it falls to his fellow Shildonian and East Stand neighbour, Peter Horan to step up from the bench and provide today’s Seven. Pre-match discussion revolved around the replacing of Johnson and Colback with Borini and Gardner and whether or not the team would leave the pitch with the same number of players that walked out of the tunnel prior to Kick Off. The final whistle saw an improvement of sorts, Sunderland leaving the field with a full complement of players, a clean sheet and a share of the spoils enough to get the side off the bottom of the Premier League table. Here, in seven words is the other Peter’s summation of the game.

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Sixer’s Sevens: Stoke City 2 Sunderland 0 – with a Friend like this!

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Jake's one -word verdict: 'speechless'
Jake’s one-word verdict: ‘speechless’

It all started as brightly as the yellow shirts which the Lads were wearing. The Poyet approach had seen some crisp passing moves and it is fair to say that Sunderland were beginning to outplay the team in red and white before the home side took the lead against the run of play. The influence of Wes Brown since his return from injury cannot be underestimated and he was showing his quality in this game until a preposterous decision from referee Kevin Friend to show the red card for a perfectly executed tackle, saw him off down the tunnel to test the waters of the Stoke City showers.

This was the second away game in a row where Gus Poyet’s half time team talk was directed at a depleted side. Against Hull the nine men came close to salvaging something. It was the same today when Begovic’s challenge on Fletcher might have been a penalty, but our “Friend” the referee didn’t deem it worthy. Eventually Stoke got a second and at the risk of sounding like Arsenal fans we are left bemoaning the performance of the man in the middle. Pete Sixsmith was there and as usual sums up the day in just seven words …..

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