At 3,12pm the BBC reported Chris Maguire had been sent off. In the absence of any confirmation from Pete Sixsmith I went looking elsewhere and found a site that gave the score at 2-0. It was quickly corrected to 1-0, something Pete did confirm. How many League games since we prevented our opponents from scoring?
Pete became a bit busier after half-time, sending four seven word texts instead of the usual one:
A performance flatter than the Lincolnshire countryside
Johnn McCormick writes: Today, we welcome the return of an excellent but brief series, twice. This is a repost because we appear once again to have been visited by the purveyor of Turkish massage sites. So if you’ve seen this before please accept our apologies. If you haven’t here’s another piece to enjoy.
Jake: nowt for Lincoln City and three or four for SAFC would make for a good-looking scoreline’
A well-known writer on Sunderland AFC has solemnly declared that this Saturday’s visit to Lincoln City will be the farthest south he will travel this season in the cause of following the team.
It remains to be seen whether that writer, none other than our own Pete Sixsmith, will maintain this boycott of half the country if promotion ends up being potentially sealed at, say, Burton in April. Or indeed if we return to Wembley for some reason.
It was, in fact, my first trip to the SOL since the start of the previous season, and my first Sunderland game since December, and it had to be organised with great care. Trains instead of the car, and clothes that were guaranteed to keep me warm. And I can now add that by the time I got home I was knackered, far more than usual.
The reason lies in events that began nigh on a year ago but please forgive my artistic licence; I’m starting a lot further back than that.
Readers will know we have been experiencing technical problems caused by a malicious redirection of certain of our pages to a scummy Turkish escort site. Salut! Sunderland is now more secure (at a hefty price) but neither that, nor as much self-help and professional cleansing as we have been able to do without further expenditure, has rid us of this Turkish blight.
When a page redirects to Istanbul – as happened with Sixer’s Sevens after the MK Dons match and this full report by our deputy editor Malcolm Dawson – we are excluded from the invaluable headline-grabbing newsnow.co.uk site and the number of readers plummets alarmingly.
Reposting, while irrtating for readers who have already seen the relevant item, has been known to help. So we are today republishing Malcolm’s outstanding analysis in the hope it may avoid the vulture-like attentions of our friends from the east and attract the audience it deserves.
A full professional clean-up to eliminate (maybe!) the bug would be too expensive so if anyone knows a SAFC-supporting IT wizard who would be happy to do it for a pittance, please say so …
Monsieur Salut writes: Pete Sixsmith greatly enjoyed his midweek trip to Bramall Lane, a winning display on the field enhanced by a feelgood, relatively sober atmosphere among our travelling fans.
And so back to the mundane but – surely for us – more important world of League One. Sixer was there with our associate editor John McCormick in the East Stand, deputy editor Malcolm Dawson back in his usual seat so a decent turn-out for the Salut! Sunderland editorial team.
A bright start produced two goals, another cracker for Max Power – ‘even better than on Wednesday at Sheff Utd’, said Sixer – and a second from Luke O’Nien. At half time, Pete deplored ‘another spineless referee’ for failing to reduce ‘Franchise FC’ to 10 men for an assault on O’Nien that screamed red but drew yellow.
Jake: ‘from Spain, it sounded like the classic game of two halves’
In true Sunderland fashion, we failed to build on or convincingly defend even a two-goal lead and, as Ipswich coasted to victory at home to Tranmere, a goal was duly conceded.
Sixer reported us ‘living on our nerves’ while Gary Bennett said we looked too much like an away team clinging on desperately to a slim lead. That said, we did hang on and three valuable points are ours. Pete’s seven-word verdict – take your pick from the two he offered – will be followed by a full appraisal …
Jake: ‘now for some points on the table … please’ Football talk thrives on whats ifs.
What if Jack Ross, suitably impressed by his much-changed team’s latest winning exploits in the Carabao Cup, decided the same side can surely coast past MK Dons in the more important matter of the League One promotion race?
It was, after all, a fine 1-0 win against Sheffield United, albeit also much changed after their 2-0 Premier League triumph at Everton.
But we know it won’t happen because football doesn’t tend to work that way. A few of Wednesday night’s stars may get into the squad but the chances of Ross announcing an unchanged side are less than zero.
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’
If you read Pete Sixsmith’s match report on the Sheffield United cup match or Malcolm’s account from last Saturday you’ll know I was up for the MK Dons game. Malcolm might have given you a clue that it wasn’t just any old visit. Pete did, too, but I deleted his brief reference.
