Small step taken as Sunderland rue officials' decisions

IF blaming the fans, the pitch and even the media had been used as reasons for Sunderland’s failings since the turn of the year, then Gus Poyet and Sunderland’s supporters had an excuse to agree on at the Stadium of Light: the officials.

This might not have been a performance to set pulses racing, but at least the Black Cats displayed the greater hunger and commitment which Poyet and the club’s support had demanded since the FA Cup horror show at Bradford City six days earlier.

Sunderland were better. They were not brilliant, they were not even good, but they were improved and solid against a West Bromwich Albion team which had blatantly just turned up on Wearside to stay tight and try to nick a goal.

Poyet was, on the other hand, desperate for a win to give everyone a lift. It never arrived and, while he will be disappointed with that, he will hope the extra edge his team displayed will catch on - a bit like Lee Cattermole’s tenacity in the middle.

It was no surprise to see that Sunderland, however marginally, had greater impetus and drive with Cattermole in the middle. After missing the last ten matches with knee and groin trouble, Poyet gambled on the player’s fitness and it soon became clear why.

“There’s no doubt that we were more solid,” said the head coach, after a 15th draw of the campaign and eighth goalless draw.

“We were very experienced, too. I did not say old! We had experienced internationals, players who are 30, who have played for big clubs, characters, top teams. That was the idea.

“To have men on the pitch to cope with the pre-match nerves helped. When we settled down we were the better team but we needed a break. Lee was also a big help in the dressing room. He is contagious.

“Someone who runs as much as he does, and plays the game with such a high intensity, others follow. I think that brings a lot. When he comes back he makes a difference.”

Sunderland have lacked creativity in the final third all season and, despite the arrival of the predatory Jermain Defoe from Toronto last month, they have still not found a successful way of playing to the strikers’ strengths. With the exception of the 32-year-old, Sunderland lack pace and that does not help when they move forward.

So while there were encouraging aspects of Sunderland’s display, it was certainly not a performance to get the fans purring.

But small steps could be important after a week when Poyet penned a letter to try to repair fractures which had developed in his relationship with those in the stands.

There was support from start to finish for the team and even after the final whistle there were very few boos despite Sunderland’s failings in front of goal, so he was satisfied with elements of the team’s performance despite failing to test Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster on a regular basis.

Things might been a lot different had referee Michael Jones’ showed Joleon Lescott the red card instead of a yellow when assistant Constantine Hatzidakis pulled play back when the defender brought down Danny Graham as he raced to meet Cattermole’s through pass.

The same flagman then raised it to rule out Adam Johnson’s goal when he brought down Ricky Alvarez’s deep cross to the back post before slotting beyond Foster. Craig Dawson, the West Brom full-back, played him marginally on but the legitimate opener never stood.

He said: “He was onside, unfortunately for the linesman. I understand why he gave it. He made a mistake. The red card was an easy decision too. In my book if you give the foul he should be sent off. What can I say without getting fined? It was unfortunate!”

Other than those two, Foster had to turn a low drive from Seb Larsson behind for a corner in the first half while the England goalkeeper also thwarted a near post header from Connor Wickham with 15 minutes remaining.

Poyet said: “We settled down and passed the ball. We controlled it better, we were high in the pitch and it looked like we would score. When we did score the linesman made a mistake.

“The players were very good even the ones who didn't play on Saturday were positive. You cannot compare this game with any other one. Next week at Manchester United is very different. Let's see if we can adapt in a similar way.

“It was a case of trying everything. The desire, commitment was spot on. We needed a break, a lucky goal or a right decision from the referee. It was not to be.”