Sunderland A Match Reports.

[Isleworth_Bee]

I cant see another thread.

Just got home and its safe to say that was one of my favourite away games/weekends as a Bees fan.

The football was sublime in the first 45min and we tore them apart. They are a poor side and you can see how depressed their fan base is. 27 mins and they were leaving to go home!!!!

Sawyers was class and for me Josh M had one of his best games this season. I was so happy for NM when he got his goal and what a finish it was.

Our turn out and support was very good and im happy to have been able to make it up there. The Stadium of Light was a lovely ground and easy to get to.

Newcastle is a top city for a weekend away. We got up there on the Friday and the Airbnb existed. £30 each for two nights was fantastic value for the 5 of us. Out till 1am Sat morning and same again on Saturday night into Sunday.............. Many a beer consumed at around £2.50-3 a beer being the average price

What a three points! Well done Bees.

 

[Glenisterbee]

Excellent day out. It was a game where i never feared them getting back into it. Agree with Smith that we were a little disappointing second half but we didn't need any more goals. They are the worst team I've seen this season and are surely going to have the biggest ground ever seen in league one next season. As we walked back to the car there wasn't any real moaning from their fans, i think they've accepted their lot. Coleman has a hell of a job on there.

 

[Lionel Bart-At]

Excellent day out. It was a game where i never feared them getting back into it. Agree with Smith that we were a little disappointing second half but we didn't need any more goals. They are the worst team I've seen this season and are surely going to have the biggest ground ever seen in league one next season. As we walked back to the car there wasn't any real moaning from their fans, i think they've accepted their lot. Coleman has a hell of a job on there.

It's not that long since they were there previously.

 

[Chorlton Bee]

It's not that long since they were there previously.

Eh? Mid 80s at a guess and not in the SoL

 

[hairman]

Eh? Mid 80s at a guess and not in the SoL

About 1987 I think.

 

[Edmundo]

Well, having just watched the highlights on the official club site, it would appear that we were extremely fortunate to win that match, as we only had two moments of note in the whole game, which was peppered with chances for Sunderland.

 

[hairman]

Well, having just watched the highlights on the official club site, it would appear that we were extremely fortunate to win that match, as we only had two moments of note in the whole game, which was peppered with chances for Sunderland.

Yep. Seems as though little old Brentford are still just riding their luck until the inevitable happens and they get relegated back to where they belong.

 

[NorthamptonBee]

The ref, he certainly wasn’t a homer, how Woods wasn’t booked for taking one for the team by body slamming a breaking Mackem was seriously weird, Josh C mistimed one late on and seemed to stop playing only for the ref to tell him to play on, the home boys must have hated him as he added to their frustration, I liked him.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

The ref, he certainly wasn’t a homer, how Woods wasn’t booked for taking one for the team by body slamming a breaking Mackem was seriously weird, Josh C mistimed one late on and seemed to stop playing only for the ref to tell him to play on, the home boys must have hated him as he added to their frustration, I liked him.

 

[hypa123]

Good to get started on a new winning run. Hope we can reproduce that first-half display over the full 90 minutes against Brum and Leeds.

Looking at Bristol City's next two fixtures (Fulham, Cardiff), it's not impossible that by next Saturday night we'll be in sixth place.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

An easy win against very poor opposition.

We were excellent in the first half, passing the ball quickly and precisely and offering tons of movement off the ball. Sunderland gave us oceans of space to play in but it still had to be punished - and we did just that with a long range strike from Mokotjo and a neat close range flick in from Maupay. Both Jozefzoon and Watkins had good chances too and by the break we could well have had four or five. Sunderland threatened only in isolated spells. Bentley made a fairly routine stop at his near post and a well struck effort from the edge of the area ricocheted to safety off the top of our crossbar.

In the second we just never quite got going. Sunderland tightened up and got a lot closer to us. As a result our passing got a bit ragged and the game became a bit scrappy. In fact, Sunderland might have pulled a goal back on several occasions had they had more of a cutting edge. But we were never really in any danger - Sunderland were too lacking in quality to do anything constructive and we saw the game out very comfortably.

Jozefzoon was outstanding and caused problems for Sunderland's weak defence all afternoon. Watkins was good too and Maupay worked hard both on and off the ball. Sawyers had an up and down game - elegant turns and crisp passing one minute then giving the ball away cheaply the next. Bjelland and Egan were very solid, the former having yet another immaculate game. Dalsgaard, unburdened by any attacking threat from Sunderland, had the freedom to rampage forward at will. Clarke had a more difficult afternoon and looked uncomfortable in the LB position.

What can I say about Sunderland? The stadium is magnificent. The supporters were friendly, decent people who deserve better. The (free!) park and ride system was impressive. The stewards were helpful. The team, alas, was dismal. I really can't see how they can survive. They look about as weak as Blackpool were three seasons ago and must surely rank as one of the poorest Championship sides of recent times. I wouldn't be surprised to see the club go straight through League 1 into the bottom division - the current team looks about the same standard as the bottom end of League 1.

One last thing - the official attendance was given as 27,000. In reality I can't believe there were more than about 15,000 actually in the ground. The capacity is 42,000 and it looked to me like well over 50% of the seats were empty. It seems a large number of season ticket holders have simply given up.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

Good to get started on a new winning run. Hope we can reproduce that first-half display over the full 90 minutes against Brum and Leeds.

Looking at Bristol City's next two fixtures (Fulham, Cardiff), it's not impossible that by next Saturday night we'll be in sixth place.

Not impossible, but very unlikely. It would require BC to lose two games, Sheff Utd, Preston and Middlesbrough to all drop points and us to win both upcoming games, the second of which is a tough trip to Leeds.

 

[sonofabee]

Not impossible, but very unlikely. It would require BC to lose two games, Sheff Utd, Preston and Middlesbrough to all drop points and us to win both upcoming games, the second of which is a tough trip to Leeds.

I thought it looked over half full

 

[Ealing Bee]

One last thing - the official attendance was given as 27,000. In reality I can't believe there were more than about 15,000 actually in the ground. The capacity is 42,000 and it looked to me like well over 50% of the seats were empty. It seems a large number of season ticket holders have simply given up.

According to their website:
"The stadium's original capacity was 42,000 but was later increased to 49,000 after the construction of an extra tier on the North Stand."
https://www.safc.com/history/stadiums/stadium-of-light
And their record attendance is 48,355 (vs Liverpool, 2002):
https://www.safc.com/history/stat-zone/club-stats

Anyhow, Well Done for going all that way - you and all the others deserved to enjoy it.

 

[Newport Pagnell Bee]

I thought it looked over half full

The Stadium or Hypa's glass?

 

[hypa123]

us to win both upcoming games, the second of which is a tough trip to Leeds.

Have you noticed Leeds' form recently?

And Bristol City have twice in successive games let slip substantial leads against (to put it mildly) indifferent opposition.

The Stadium or Hypa's glass?

Cheers!

 

[NorthamptonBee]

So few reports, I reckon most of us just had a really good day/weekend out, it all went our way, friendly locals, nobody was pants on the pitch and the away support was what I expected, 1k plus of Bees who had a long journey and in the main had a lot of time for drinking, a top day out.

 

[Idaho Bee]

Can't add much more to the above reports except to confirm that the first half was excellent and the best of the season so far. Second half was a non event as we didn't need to do anything, and I was confident that we could go up another gear in the unlikely event that Sunderland scored.

A very professional performance.

A few mind games from our head coach before the game too. Most unusual.

 

[Doovster]

Football wise we were so dominant in the first half we should've been out of sight. My only worry at half time was the fact it was only 2 nil.

I've said to a few people I can't work out whether we were excellent or they were awful? I think it was a combination but then credit to us for making them that bad.

Second half was predictable in the sense they had a go, we happily sat back soaked up what they had and hoped to kill it completely on the the break. I never felt threatened nor worried they had enough to turn it around.

The other part of the day was great. First pint at T5 at 6:30 in the morning. Last pint around midnight in Yates, cut short by my younger roommate disappearing without trace but thankfully finding him back in the room resembling the walking dead. Let's just say it was an interesting night in my room acting like Mother Theresa!! He couldn't remember anything from about 9PM onwards from the night before lol

Newcastle is a great town full of friendly locals, too many bars and pubs, and unbelievable scenes!!

 

[teesbee]

Other reports covered it. Great support from us, singing pretty much throughout - they were silent as the grave but frankly who can blame them, I reckon over twenty thousand people paid good money to see a shockingly disinterested performance from their team. The climb to the designated away area was a good workout, but once you got to the seats it gave a great view of our intricate passing, which in the first half (as we attacked our end) was a wonder to behold. We'll all be doing 'the Kamo' when he scores again!

 

[robBEEh]

There's been a fair amount of criticism this season about us not managing games in the same way as your Derby or even Preston but I thought that we did a decent job of that on Saturday. Romaine looked after the ball after it had gone dead like Johnson had for Preston the week before, Josh Mc always seemed to keen to have a whisper to the ref when the need arose (although frothing at the mouth and flailing arms might be better in the future) and Bjelland was the Daddy in his battle with Fletcher and wound him up a treat prompting the substitution. We will never be a Derby (thank Heavens) but I think we've definitely learned lessons about being a little less nice from recent experiences.

 

[NorthamptonBee]

Following on from above, we're 2 up and we get a free kick, their bod walks off with the ball and dribbles it back, Josh Mc is 25 yards away from where the kick needs to be and he taps it 5 yards forward, Fletcher sprints to get us to get on with it, lovely to watch, then we get a free kick in the 2nd half and we have 3 people stand over individually and then decide their mate should take it and ran off, their crowd were going bonkers and I did expect a yellow for such nonsense, we've been on the wrong side of loads of this so a little back isn't an issue.

 

[Doovster]

Following on from above, we're 2 up and we get a free kick, their bod walks off with the ball and dribbles it back, Josh Mc is 25 yards away from where the kick needs to be and he taps it 5 yards forward, Fletcher sprints to get us to get on with it, lovely to watch, then we get a free kick in the 2nd half and we have 3 people stand over individually and then decide their mate should take it and ran off, their crowd were going bonkers and I did expect a yellow for such nonsense, we've been on the wrong side of loads of this so a little back isn't an issue.

I had actually forgotten how well we 'managed' the game in the second half. Plus an outstanding referee as an away side.

How Josh Clarke got away with a clear shove in the bloke's back in the corner second half I do not know. Also like you said, Woodsy clearing their bloke out when they broke and not getting yellowed was great but unbelievable. Maybe the ref was just so amazed by our standard of football and decided we were the good guys

 

[bexleybee]

https://youtu.be/82SCcsG4kC8?t=200

The Sunderland BTS video. Feel proud of our lot and you can hear the fans singing super Brentford. Body language of those Sunderland players does not look good at all

 

[Infatuated Bees Alter Ego]

We got out the trap with guns a blazing and was at them right from the off / kick off. Sunderland truly were lacking in confidence and ability and we were at their throats early. After a couple of minutes, I texted my brother, who was at home listening to the game and said this could be a right mauling and 6-0 to us ultimately ! and I think we could and should have had more than the 2 goals in the 1st half.
Great turn out from us and our supporters up there and we generated so much noise from the behind the goal. Simmo said he'd been to this ground and seen us 4 times previous, which I believed him at the time lol. 1st time for me, although went and saw us at Roker Park before.
One of their players should've got a red card for a reckless challenge and Bjelland had the right nark in the 2nd half because of some of their dubious challenges. Sunderland were better in the 2nd half and Clarke had a bit of a torrid time with their raw winger .. everything they had was going down that side of the pitch.
Some great show boating from Sawyers. McReachren took a knock and I thought here we go again, but he got up and carried on for a little while, before getting substituted.
3 points on the road and none on my licence .. well I don't think so / hope so !

 

[marvelous007]

Well it really was a long day. 5 hours drive up there and straight back after the game with a slight diversion around Milton Keynes. Next time, definatly getting the train or plane to Newcastle. However, I think the first half hour was the best football i seen us play for quite a long time. Although Sunderland defence was very poor. Fantastic staduim (and I don't normally like modern grounds), parked about 2 miles away at the park and ride and walked up to the ground. Decent support from the away end with over 1,200 fans in fine voice. Looking forward to Tuesday night!.

 

[Darren J]

Went up on the Friday direct train from King X but didn't get in until after 4 o'clock due to long delays around the Stevenage area.

Dumped the bags and got on the beer. The areas around the station and the high street were really grim so jumped in a taxi up to Roker. Lovely to see the sea and it was a really nice vibe up there. Pubs and beer were thoroughly decent too. Worked our way back into town via a few more pubs and could barely string a sentence together by 10pm so decided to go to bed.

Woke up the next morning with a headache and half the contents of the hotels vending machine scattered across the room and bits of Kebab meat on the desk as standard. Quick turnaround and back out and on the beers after Spoons breakfast with optional extra black pudding. Nearly everything on the plate was hot so that was a good start to the day. Stomach well lined we took in the best of the rest of Sunderland's real ale/non chaps pubs and got to the game just minutes after kick off.

Good game, great support and fantastic result. Done all the aways apart from Bolton this year and the vocal support and fun nature has been a real step up on the last two seasons. Sheff Utd and Ipswich were a bit dodgy but since then, with Wolves maybe being the exception which I'll put down to the sky high seats in the ground, our following has been superb.

Power walk back to the station for the 17:29 back to London. Back home at 10pm sober which was most welcome as had a full on work day yesterday. Great couple of days out and look forward to going back at some stage.

List of pubs for anyone interested.

Friday.
Peacock, Poetic License (Roker hotel), Granny Annies, Queen Vic, Harbour View, Wolesey, The Avenue, The Albion, Tipsey Cow, Dun Cow, Old Engine Room.

Saturday.
Cooper Rose (Spoons), Chaplins, Chesters, Ivy House, Fitzgeralds, Ship Isis, Museum Valults.

 

[Edmundo]

Well, having just watched the highlights on the official club site, it would appear that we were extremely fortunate to win that match, as we only had two moments of note in the whole game, which was peppered with chances for Sunderland.

There's a much better highlights package on the club's free twitter than on the paid for iFollow service.

 

[Stanley]

Not much to add as agree with most of above, dominant in the first half with tikka takka football that blew them away, 67% possession made us more like the home side. Second half they upped the tempo but we game managed the half in a very professional way which in many ways was equally as impressive.

Stadium of Light stadium is impressive but it is still basically a standard bowl stadium with an upper tier in one end and situated in an industrial wasteland. The fans are seated quite a way from the pitch as well. Its Ok but not my cup of tea for a modern stadium.

Locals were pleasant though and one chap we got talking to after the game was almost in tears at their plight. Relegation is going to hit them ( and the local economy) very hard.

 

[RodBee]

Long day - left Camberley 8.30 am and back at 10.30 pm.

But what a day!! Easy journey both ways, fantastic support, great and well deserved win, easy journey back, a distraught Coleman on channel 5's The Championship.

Still bubbling.

 

[BEE_FOR_LIFE]

Long day - left Camberley 8.30 am and back at 10.30 pm.

But what a day!! Easy journey both ways, fantastic support, great and well deserved win, easy journey back, a distraught Coleman on channel 5's The Championship.

Still bubbling.

Agree on the easy journey both ways. We left Yateley at 5.30am, parked up at the hotel in Kingston Park before 11am, Metro hop into Newcastle for a few beers at lunchtime and then back on Metro to Sunderland. Great win, I hesitate to say it but the first half was almost like a footballing masterclass, not quite so comfortable in the 2nd half but in no real danger. Back into Newcastle after the game, more beers and food. Left after breakfast Sunday morning and back home by 3pm.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

The ref, he certainly wasn’t a homer, how Woods wasn’t booked for taking one for the team by body slamming a breaking Mackem was seriously weird, Josh C mistimed one late on and seemed to stop playing only for the ref to tell him to play on, the home boys must have hated him as he added to their frustration, I liked him.

I agree although should we have had a penalty in the first half? A bullet header through ball pass from Josh M (you wont see many of them!) led to a one on one (was it Flo Jo??) bloke pulled him down jut inside the box - seems like the ref didn't give it out of sympathy for how rubbish Sunderland were at the time.

Football wise we were so dominant in the first half we should've been out of sight. My only worry at half time was the fact it was only 2 nil.

I've said to a few people I can't work out whether we were excellent or they were awful? I think it was a combination but then credit to us for making them that bad.

Second half was predictable in the sense they had a go, we happily sat back soaked up what they had and hoped to kill it completely on the the break. I never felt threatened nor worried they had enough to turn it around.

The other part of the day was great. First pint at T5 at 6:30 in the morning. Last pint around midnight in Yates, cut short by my younger roommate disappearing without trace but thankfully finding him back in the room resembling the walking dead. Let's just say it was an interesting night in my room acting like Mother Theresa!! He couldn't remember anything from about 9PM onwards from the night before lol

Newcastle is a great town full of friendly locals, too many bars and pubs, and unbelievable scenes!!

You at right, we really should have wiped the floor with them given how dominant we were and how broken they looked after half an hour - 'only' winning 0-2 perhaps confirms why were aren't higher in the table - simply not ruthless enough.

It was a mix of us being brilliant and them being awful but I think they gave us a mini scare at times second half - a goal for them might have made it interesting (not in a good way) but fair play to us who held firm and picked up a good win.

 

[jlove]

Well, I'm back...

While the players all get plaudits at various positive levels, I thought it was a fantastic tactical start from the analysis and coaching teams. The first 10 minutes or so, McEachran pinged a lot of passes through the channel for both Jozefzoon and Maupay which scared their defenders who had to turn like tugs on the Wear, even if we didn't always get to the ball; if there was no space, the ball went to the other side with Watkins. Our players, particularly Sawyers, were trying some outrageous flicks and touches, again not many came off but the cumulative effect must have been demoralising. You could see the panic developing and they lost all shape. Once that happened, we had so much space to play in, kept moving that ball and the goals came, their fans gave up and their players did too. Such a pity that we didn't score more as I think a third before half time would have demolished them totally.

They had to do something different at half time and replaced their most awful defender plus someone else who did nothing and brought on two players who seemed to have a bit of energy. Their tactics became 100% to get the ball to their wide right, another player who had some energy, and hope something would happen. Quite why we didn't get to grips with this is a mystery but I guess we were on cruise control by then. Woods came on to fill the space in front of the defence with little change but the inability of their other players to take advantage meant we still had a lot of control over the game, especially Bjelland striding into midfield, and we saw it out.

With more seagulls than Makems in the stands in the final minutes, it became a strange experience but the Bees faithful had a lot to sing about to keep us in good spirits. A good day out and I hope they can stay up for a repeat next season.

 

[cheshire bee]

Great day out aided by probably too many pre match beers, first just sublime, Kamo’s goal got EFL goal of the day, decent strike but would expect more spectacular goals, but will take it.
Flowing move with Maupay back heeling ball in and then bring on the dancing girls for the rest of the first half while the home crowd either exited to the bar downstairs or elsewhere and left knowing what was coming.
2nd half we were comfortable but still a couple of shaky moments, that a better team may have capitalised.
Great noise from start to finish with us being heard on the various videos, especially the Sunderland one posted elsewhere.
Can’t make Birmingham, gutted but will be at Leeds.
Watch out for their fans, as bad as their form is, their fans raised the roof against Bristol City with their Champions of Europe and We all love Leeds crap, but the team responded and could have turned 2-0 down into 3-2 win.
Need to come out of the blocks quick on Sat, but good results in next 2 games and back in it !