SUNDERLAND
V EVERTON
The good cup run is back at the Stadium of
Light; Sunderland having held Everton at Goodison. It is only 4 weeks since
round 5 but it is 30 degrees warmer, and after a balmy spring day it’s a clear
night as the ground fills up. Everton fans take up the whole of one end and a
noisy 40,000 plus crowd eagerly greets the teams who are in their traditional
colours.
After an early flurry from Everton,
Sunderland start to apply pressure, with McClean crossing the ball into
dangerous territory, forcing a succession of corners but to no effect. Then
Everton start to get corners, and a trademark Cahill header needs Mignolet to block
at point blank range. This is followed in quick succession by further headers
fom Jelavic and again Cahill, both saved by Mignolet. But the writing is on the
wall and good work down the Everton left by Gueye results in a clever pull back
and a slickly sidefooted goal from Jelavic.
Sunderland respond with energy but only
threaten with a couple of Larsson free kicks and a Bardsley special that fizzes
over the bar. The score line remains one nil at half time, the difference
between the teams being that Everton’s efforts on goal are on target and force
saves whereas Sunderland’s are all off target.
In the second half both teams have realised the
difficulty of playing through such a competitive midfeld and are content to
knock the ball over it and hope their front men can hold it up until support
arrives. Jelavic proves better at this than Bendtner.
Ten minutes into the half Sunderland are
forced to take Kyrgiakos off; Gardner drops into a reshuffled back four, and
Vaughan comes into midfield but fails to pick up the pace of the game. The
second or third time he gives the ball away proves fatal. Everton’s Fellaini
bears down on the Sunderland goal, and Turner’s tackle just knocks the ball to
Jelavic. Keeper Mignolet foces him wide and into a weak shot on goal. Vaughan
has raced back to the line and is set to make amends for his error, but only
compounds it by getting his feet in a muddle and inexplicably deflecting his
own clearance into his own goal.
As after the first goal Sunderland try hard
to respond, and Sessegnon gets to a corner, only to see his volley glance off
the bar. This is an isolated threat and at 2-0 Everton are comfortable; the re-jigged
Sunderland midfield becomes even more ineffective with poor passing and the
hopeful long balls forward become hopeless punts upfield, meat and drink to the
excellent Distin and Heitinga. A third Everton goal looks more likely as
Sunderland take risks all over the field leaving scant cover at the back. Both
Jelavic and Gueye have efforts that go narrowly wide.
In contrast it is the 92nd minute before Sunderland
finally force a save from Tim Howard. Frazier Campbell is put through but under
pressure can only scuff a shot into the Everton keeper’s body
Full time comes as a relief to the
Sunderland fans, who troop out disappointed to lose but somehow comforted by
the knowledge it was all their team deserved. Everton fans are ecstatic at the prospect of a Wembley semi-final with Liverpool.
Sunderland kept the North East’s interest in
the FA Cup alive almost to the end; the semi-finals though are exclusively
London and Merseyside so my good cup run for 2011-12 ends after 7 months, 11
games, 31 goals and visits to 8 different grounds.
Never mind it will soon be August and time
to start again.
