This was a crucial game. Other results for once had gone our way and a win would get us off the bottom of the table. But with O’Shea out and Brown suspended it was up to the reshuffled back four to hold firm but they didn’t. They looked shaky for much of the first half and although our performance improved it looked like old boy Fraizer Campbell had put the game out of reach with Cardiff’s second. With Borini off to hospital having collapsed at half time things weren’t looking great but Fletcher and Colback proved there is a Santa Claus after all. Here is where you can find Pete Sixsmith’s immediate post-match, seven-word verdict from deepest darkest Wales.
December 28 2013 Cardiff City (1) 2 Sunderland (0) 2 Dragged a vital point out of that
December 26 2013 Everton (0) 0 Sunderland (1) 1 Hung on after interval but massive result
December 21 2013 SAFC (0) 0 Norwich City (0) 0 As stodgy as last year’s Christmas pud
December 17 2013 Capital One Cup 5th Round: SAFC (0) 2 Chelsea (0) 1 AET Ki seals comeback; didn’t see that coming
December 14 2013 West Ham Utd (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 0 Better side by miles – couldn’t finish it
December 8 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2 Score flatters us as task gets harder
December 4 2013 SAFC (1) 3 Chelsea (2) 4 Pushed a strong side all the way
November 30 2013 Aston Villa (0) 0 SAFC (0) 0 *Villa almost undone by cream soda performance
November 23 2013 Stoke City (1) 2 SAFC (0) 0 Ridiculous red gave us an impossible task
November 10 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Manchester City (0) 0 A wonderfully disciplined performance. Real hope now
November 6 2013 Capital One Cup 4th Round: SAFC (0) 2 Southampton (0) 1 A tidy second half brings Wembley closer
November 2 2013 Hull City (1) SAFC (0) Damage limitation after appalling first half performance
October 27 2013 SAFC (1) 2 Newcastle United (0) 1 Bragging rights and a win. Good combination/ or Perfect Poyet puts another one over Pardew
October 19 2013 Swansea City 4 (0) SAFC 0 (0) No Poyet magic cure for abject failure*
October 5 2013 SAFC (1) 1 Manchester United (0) 2 Better side first half, outclassed in second
September 30 2013 SAFC (0) 1 Liverpool (2) 3 Spirit in abundance, undone by shoddy defending
September 24 2013 Capital One Cup 3rd Round: SAFC (1) 2 Peterborough United (0) 0 A solid performance without any touchline histrionics
September 21 2013 West Bromwich Albion 3 (1) SAFC 0 (0) Coach looks completely out of his depth
September 14 2013 SAFC (0) 1 Arsenal (1) 3 Performance far better than the result suggests
August 31 2013 Crystal Palace (1) 3 SAFC (0) 1 Nowhere near good enough for this league
August 27 2013 Capital One Cup 2nd Round: SAFC (0) 4 MK Dons (1) 2Outplayed, outclassed, somehow got out of jail
August 24 2013 Southampton (0) 1 SAFC (1) 1 The point was better than the performance
August 17 2013 SAFC (0) 0 Fulham (0) 1 Ultimately little difference from previous two seasons
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Brilliant to see young Jordan Pickford going mental on the touchline after the equaliser.
We actually dominated the game after the 1st 25 minutes, we had some well constructed openings but we seemed to be unlucky but kept at it. We have to make the best of it and we did. The effort was immense the determination there for all to see. IMHO Cardiff nicked a point they really didn’t deserve. The players believe they can survive and they will give everything for Poyet. There will still be bad days ahead but we all need to stay with them, as for the mindless Smog monster, whisky tango foxtrot
To be fair, I was devastated that Campbell scored against us, bu, I saw the look on his face, he did not want to celebrate. We should have kept him, most of his time at Sunderland he was injured. Anyway, nice guy. Right result for once, I guess we could claim many more points if the “right result” was taken away from Referees.
O’Neill sold Campbell and used the money to help fund the signing of Danny Graham, its no wonder he got the push. Trouble is we’ve compounded that error by signing Altidore . The jury was out, me included, but the verdicts returned and after that useless non performance yesterday we have to try and sell him back to the Dutch league in January ,before he’s stock drops too far He won’t be a loss, Wickham is better,Graham is just as bad.Need them back and him gone , unless we actually sign someone else to accompany Fletcher, even we couldn’t sign another duffer could we?
Charlie Hurley! Jim Holton! Gary Bennett! Dickie Ord! Diakite…Lord Help Us.
I’m with Keith on this.
A month ago, 2 nil down in the second half, we’d have been dead and buried. Gus is slowly installing in this marauding band of misfits a sense of team spirit. Successful teams, even when they play a stinker, and we certainly did today, manage to get something out of it. I mean, take those 2 goals in the last 12 minutes: we couldn’t score 2 in 90 earlier this month! And on the road? Something is happening here, and the results of the past couple of weeks have left me somewhat optimistic.
The sending offs have stopped, we’re finding out that we can score on the road, and the points are slowly but surely coming. When we play well, we’re now able to keep a clean sheet. Today, we learned we’re able to mount a comeback.
For most of this season, we brought absolutely nothing to the table. No longer. I feel Sunderland has definitely turned a corner. Sure, there will be stumbles and low points ahead, but we’re no longer the schoolyard pushover anymore.
Fantastic last ten minutes and fight back after a terrible performance . Precious point and we’re scraping our way nearer the pack. I know it was no classic but why did SKY insist on showing that plumTan for minutes on end instead of the game?
We were naive, we had to put Cardiff on the back foot, but they came at us and we weren’t ready for it. We conceded to very poor goals, but were able to come back. A draw from a game we should have won but 4 points from two away games is priceless. still bottom but not for long
I watched live on TV here in the States. What a truly awful first half. No energy or running off the ball. Dossena might as well have been totally invisible. Honestly, if I had my boots on and I was in the crowd I’d have jumped on the pitch and been subbed in for him. He seemed to sum up the whole performance.
However, strangely, towards the end of the first half we had a few golden opportunities to score and Altidore missed an absolute sitter. :s
Our most dangerous player (Borini) was off at half time and I was wondering why (I hope he recovers OK).
Ki was about our best player again.
I hope the report is true about the left back coming in because, by heck, do we need someone over there.
Fletcher did OK, Giacc not bad, but we should have been pressing Cardiff and ruffling their feathers like a team fighting for their lives. Worringly there was no sign of that for a majority of the 1st half.
This will do us less harm than Cardiff, whose owner, I’m told, booed his team off. I did see him clapping after their first goal and looking around as if his decision had been vindicated. As if.
At the start of December I’d have taken an offer of five points from Norwich, Everton and Cardiff.
Roller coaster? Too F*ing right.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2530306/Cardiff-2-Sunderland-2-Jack-Colback-scores-injury-time-steal-point-Black-Cats.html?ico=sport%5Eheadlines
Mr Smoggie, you are a cad and a bounder, not to mention an absolute shower! Be off with you!
At least your not as rude and uncouth as some of the big soft bairns on here, they don’t like it a bit when all I’m saying is what’s true. But mebbe I will be off in a bit, it gets less and less interesting and its not like anything much is likely to change
Bye bye,run along and don’t let us down,or sneakily come back under a different user name, now that really would be sad!
I’ll go in my time not yours mate and whatever happens I’ll see you in the championship. You’ll be a lot less out of your depth there lol
Backtracking already Smaggie, didnt realise the skunks were at risk of going down again,always hope eh?
Mebbe the lot of you should stand outside KC stadium and chant ‘you fat geordie bastard come back to our club’
We’re too busy standing inside the SOL, Goodison, Cardiff and sundry points south of the Angel of the North, not too mention horsepuncherville-on-tyne. And, by the way, we provided the KC with their biggest ever crowd to date.
Please let us know where you stand so we can look for you at the games you attend. If you do go to games, that is.
It’s always a pleasure to hear from a true supporter, which is why we tolerate your presence here.
Why would we do that Smaggie ?You never left , your always on here!
Score at Sid James today Smogster?
aye I saw that, it means you have the mags lead down to 19 points so if they lose 7 and you win 7 you’ll be up on them
As pointed out in my predict the bloody unpredictable score, we were on the downward curve of the roller coaster for 85 minutes.
A point good enough, no, but it could and probably should have been worse.
Hate to say it but two MASSIVE games coming up!!!!