Sunderland Were Great, They Were Better

Article by e-Sunderland Correspondent Ben Mummery

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That’s pretty much the only way to sum up the Capital One Cup Final in my eyes. Sunderland were outstanding on the day, Manchester City were better. It’s as simple as that.

For the thousands of faithful Sunderland fans who made the long trip to the capital to see their team play so well, only to be undone by two stunning pieces of world class football, it’s fair to say there isn’t one fan on Wearside who won’t be thoroughly proud of their team, as well as the effort, desire, and heart they showed on Sunday, and in so doing played some of the best football any Sunderland fan has watched in a very long time.

It’s fair to say, that with the class and ability of the Manchester City side, Sunday was always going to be an enormous ask, but in a cup final, a one off game, with equal support, anyone can win it – as proven by Wigan last year, ever the mighty Man City can fall at the last hurdle. Sunderland have shown immense desire in the cup competitions so far, and went into the game on good form, even though they were solidly thrashed by a superb Gunners team last weekend, the atmosphere, build up and excitement before the match had every fan on the edge of their seat, hoping the Red and White army could pull off the impossible and pinch a piece of major silverware from City for the second year running.

Poyet’s selection was extremely intelligent, and he is showing as games go by, that he is a manager with an excellent footballing brain who can plan for games excellently, as well as man manage and motivate his players with professionalism and class. His selection of Colback to play wide left was inspired, as although Jack isn’t naturally a wide man, he is extremely defensive minded and excellent without the ball, which went a long way to nullifying the effect of Pablo Zabaleta in attack.

It was also clear he had gambled on Demichelis being selected ahead of Lescott, and selected the rapid Fabio Borini up front on his own, to utilise his pace against the lumbering Argentinian. This paid off on more than one occasion, most notably for Sunderland’s opening goal, what must Lescott have been thinking as the little Italian burst away from Demichelis and Kompany to slot home from a tight angle?!

Sunderland’s midfield were precise, crisp and confident in possession, aggressive and organised without the ball, and in the first half of the match, Man City looked at a loss as to how to get a foothold in the game. Lee Cattermole was absolutely outstanding both with and without the ball, and looked to be having the game of his life, and when Borini was played through a second time, and only a superb tracking tackle from the City skipper stopped him getting his shot away - there looked at this stage to be only one team in the game.

But, Manchester City are truly, a superb team, with world class players, and one of the best managers in world football. Part of being a superb team is knowing how to win a game from any position. Being a class outfit, does not always mean bossing a game from start to finish week in, week out. Even the best team in the world, in any sport, have an off day or a bad half. Being world class can sometimes mean having the quality to come from behind and win a match, and there is no doubt that with the players City have on offer, they are capable of playing their way back into a game. The goal that drew them level was a piece of truly majestic football wizardry from Yaya Toure. To stroll onto a ball off such a short stride, and ping it into the top corner from thirty yards with such class and style, was nothing short of brilliant, and not a single person in red and white could have any complaints about the goal, a true “worldy”.

Moments later, another superb strike from Nasri, from the outside of his boot, put City ahead. The little Frenchman ran onto the ball and blasted it first time, with his outstep, past the motionless Vito Manonne, the second piece of utter genius to which Sunderland had no answer.

To their credit, Poyet’s men did not lose heart. They stuck in, and made a very good fist of the second half. Steven Fletcher came on from the bench, and looked mobile, setting up runners in and around him, a very good performance from the Scot, which was only mired by the fluffing of a fantastic opportunity just to the right of the City goal, where the striker miscontrolled the ball to give away an easy goal kick and waste a golden opportunity for an equaliser. The later stages of the game saw the Black Cats throw themselves at Man City, in a valiant effort to draw level, but when Ki was scythed down on the edge of the City box, a clear fowl in everyone’s book apart from the hopeless Martin “sackless” Atkinson’s, city broke away from the tired legs of the Sunderland defender and slotted home through substitute Jesus Navas.

A worthy victory, based wholly on sheer talent and ability, and in the end, no amount of hard work or determination from Sunderland could counteract the talent in the city ranks. Sunderland could have run for another hour and probably not have had enough to beat a side of such class, and I’m sure no Sunderland fan could argue with the final result.

Poyet’s men can take a huge amount of heart from their performance on Sunday. They proved to themselves just how good they can be, especially under pressure. The truth was that most teams would have succumbed to Sunderland’s game plan, hard work, and discipline, and it would have taken a top team of City’s class to beat them. This can give the team a massive lift going not only into the FA cup quarter final clash with Hull this weekend, but into the ever foreboding premier league relegation scrap they now find themselves in. There is no way that playing in that way, they can be relegated, and with leaders like O’Shea, Cattermole, Bardsley and Brown in the ranks, the team will believe like never before that they have the quality to remain in the top flight.

Player Ratings

Vito Manonne – 8
Superb from the Italian on his birthday, commanded the defense well, and showed presence in his box when claiming long balls and corners. Could have done slightly better with the third goal perhaps.

Phil Bardsley – 7
A typically gritty, physical, and determined performance from the ex Man U man. Not always composed going forward, but always a terrier in defense. A superb tackle in the opening exchanges to set the tone for his afternoon.

Marcos Alsonso – 8
Like Bardsley, aggressive and ever present in defense, however a little more determined going forward with the ball. An excellent afternoon for the Spaniard.

Wes Brown – 9
So good to have big Wes back in the team, he just knows where to be. No stranger to these huge occasions, the Manchester man knew where to put himself at just the right time, as well as looking to drive the ball out of defense.

John O’Shea – 9
Like Brown, a commanding performance from the skipper. Great in the air, and at set pieces, and with the sort of gritty attitude required to keep Sunderland safe from the drop.

Lee Cattermole - 9
Lee’s best game in a Sunderland shirt, he did nothing wrong (possibly to blame for giving away the free kick from which the first goal followed). Cattermole’s passing was immense, and his tackling crisp and clean.

Ki – 9
Like Cattermole, the Korean maestro strung passes together like it was nothing. With an array of little chipped and dinked balls, as well as driving on up the park, Ellis – please to GOD get your chequebook out!!

Seb Larsson – 8
The Swede’s best game for a long time, and in central midfield to boot! Larsson looked to carry the ball onwards, and was outstanding in the first half defensive effort.

Jack Colback - 7
Jack had been asked to play in an unfamiliar position, on the wide left of midfield. Not his natural place, but he dealt well with the attacking runs of Zabaleta, which looked to be the plan. Could have done more with a couple of opportunities to whip the ball into the box, but a good performance none the less.

Adam Johnson - 7
Did let his opposite number have too much space at times, but looked dangerous with a few runs going forward. His ball to Borini to set up Sunderland’s goal was fantastic.

Fabio Borini – 10
An utterly heroic performance from the little Italian. Asked to play up front along against the towering Demichelis and Kompany, Fabio ran his legs off all day long, even at 3-1 down.

His pace to beat one defender, and strength to hold off another, was nothing short of outstanding, and his goal was superbly taken. Man of the match from the losing team.

SUBS

Emanuele Giaccherini – 6
Showed some pace and flare, but not really on the ball long enough to make a lot of impact.

Craig Gardner – 6
Looked to carry the ball too long at times, and struggled to get into the game, but looked to attack towards the end.

Steven Fletcher – 6
Would have been a 7, but dropped points for his miss near the end. Looked mobile and held the ball up well before finding runners and creating opportunities.

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