Goals:
0-1: Defoe (42, picked the ball up close to the halfway line and glided past a retreating Fernandez before drilling home a low finish)
1-1: Ki (66, converted Naughton’s right-wing cross with a diving header from the edge of the six-yard box)
Bookings: Cork (16, dissent), Dyer (31, foul), Bridcutt (49, foul), Larsson (71, deliberate handball), Naughton (75, foul), Gomez (77, foul), Fletcher (88, foul)
Referee: Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent) – Somehow managed to show seven yellow cards in a game that was far from bad-tempered, and missed a possible penalty for a foul on Alvarez 3
Attendance: 20,355
Entertainment: ***
SWANSEA (4-2-3-1):
Fabianski 6; Naughton 7, Fernandez 5, Williams 6, Taylor 6 (Rangel 67, 5); Cork 5, Ki 7; Barrow 4 (Montero 46, 5), SHELVEY 8 (Oliveira 78), Dyer 7; Gomis 6.
Subs (not used): Tremmel (gk), Amat, Carroll, Fulton.
SUNDERLAND (4-1-3-2):
8 Pantilimon: Made two very important saves to deny Gomis and Oliveira and was a commanding presence throughout
6 Reveillere: Produced some effective surges down the right-hand side, but went missing as Ki headed home Swansea’s goal
7 Vergini: Continues to justify his central-defensive place ahead of Brown and didn’t shy away from the physical tussle with Gomis
6 O’Shea: Generally defended well, but must take some of the blame for Ki’s goal as he failed to react to the danger
7 Van Aanholt: As lively and energetic as ever, with his overlapping runs down the left continuing to be a major feature of Sunderland’s play
6 Bridcutt: Did what he was there to do, although couldn’t get close enough to Shelvey for much of the first half
6 Alvarez: Was always looking to be positive when he had the ball, but didn’t shine anything like as brightly as he had at Fulham
6 Larsson: Provided a steadying influence as he returned to the team, even if his forays into the penalty area were extremely limited
7 Gomez: Showing definite signs of improvement, and came close with a first-half shot that whistled narrowly wide
6 Graham: Made a surprise return after an 18-month exile and held the ball up reasonably effectively – didn’t look like scoring though
8 DEFOE: Changed the game with one moment of brilliance – had he not been playing, Sunderland would almost certainly have lost
Subs:
Johnson (for Alvarez, 64): Didn’t really have much of an impact and spent most of his time performing defensive duties 5
Fletcher (for Graham, 75)
(not used): Mannone (gk), Brown, Coates, Agnew, Smith.
Man Of The Match: JONJO SHELVEY – In a game where there was little to choose between the teams, the Swansea midfielder was consistently the most creative player on display.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here