Sixth Round Relpay 26 March 2012

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.