It all began so well with a comfortable win over QPR that dumped them in the relegation zone and, with Everton winning 2-0 at Swansea, pushed us back up to eighth top. Unfortunately, Everton had the taste for victory more powerfully rooted in their mouths and proceeded to repeat the scoreline at the Stadium of Light.
A great excuse reached me today to remind everyone of the Salut! Sunderland competition in which you are invited to guess the score of tomorrow’s game between Manchester City and Martin O’Neill’s finest.
What is the first chant you remember hearing at Roker Park, or which early chant or song has lingered longest in the memory? The Fulwell singing along to the chorus of the Monkees’ I’m a Believer doesn’t count.
In need of being jolted out of a post-Everton sulk, Pete Sixsmith took the road to Whitby where a grand fish and chips meal, leisurely harbourside strolls and reacquaintance with Darren Williams did the trick …
Rick Haswell-Cohen* is a lucky lad. Fell in love with and married a Mackememoiselle, then woke up one morning to news that the team he’d always supported was suddenly mega-rich. Salut! Sunderland is deeply grateful to Rick, creator of the North-eastern branch of the Manchester City Supports’ Club, for stepping in despite huge pressure of work when the original volunteer had to withdraw. The goodwill has its limits: he doesn’t think the Etihad will be the start of our process of getting over cup disappointment…
For anyone who needs to know what went wrong last night, the search ends with this quite superb account by Pete Sixsmith, which Monsieur Salut humbly commends to a certain Mr O’Neill, of how Everton were able to make such light work of Sunderland and end, in disheartening style, our Wembley hopes …
No excuses, no complaints. Martin O’Neill tells it straight: we got what we deserved from this game and so did Everton. If the nature of the defeat has left Sunderland fans feeling flat with only might-have-beens to dwell on, MON sees eight remaining league games as a chance to make his first season with us matter …
Here Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.
So we got as disappointing a performance as any of us could have imagined the team producing on such an important night for Sunderland supporters. Seventy-five years after our first FA Cup trophy, 39 years since the last (with none in between), we never looked like making the semis. Tim Howard barely saw the ball in the first half and his status as non-paying spectator continued for most of the second.
Here Pete Sixsmith captures the glory and shame, hope and despair, excitement and ennui of the Sunderland matchday experience. When, rarely, Pete is absent or delayed, a supersub does it for him and the seven-word verdict is preceded by an asterisk. Pete’s full analysis of the game will usually appear within a day or two.
Everton deservedly led 1-0 at half time. Tim Howard had little to do whereas Simon Mignolet had plenty before Nikica Jelavic’s goal went in. A sense of urgency, a grasp of midfield and an ability to threaten the Everton goal now and again are vital if we are to keep the cup dream alive. We saw none of that in the first 45 minutes.
FULL TIME: SAFC 0 EVERTON 2 – this posting has now been superseded by https://safc.blog/2012/03/sixers-sevens-safc-0-everton-2-not-remotely-good-enough/