Shambolic Sunderland suffer FA Cup embarrassment

IN the end, perhaps it was a blessing that the television companies opted to overlook Sunderland’s trip to Bradford City in the FA Cup fifth round. At least the rest of the nation didn’t get to see just how shambolic the Black Cats were as they slipped out of the competition without a semblance of a fight.

Clearly nobody had told the BBC executives about the classic ingredients for an FA Cup giant-killing, all of which were in place at Valley Parade. League One against Premier League, a pitch you wouldn’t graze cattle on, a deafening home crowd and a striker with a score to settle against his former team. It was only going to end one way.

Yet while the decision not to screen yesterday’s game was unfathomable, it was still not as indefensible as the lacklustre nature of Sunderland’s performance in a match that was always going to demand intensity and passion. Bradford’s players exhibited both characteristics from the outset; their opponents were like startled rabbits in the headlights, either unwilling or unable to embrace the demands of a predictably chaotic FA Cup tie.

Yes, the pitch was desperately poor. Yes, the referee allowed some choice early tackles to go unpunished. Yes, Sunderland should have had a penalty in the first half. But none of that should do anything to diminish the extent of the Black Cats’ failings on an afternoon that ended with more than 4,000 travelling fans booing their own players for the second match in succession and mocking head coach Gus Poyet by claiming it was “always their fault”.

There was no urgency to Sunderland’s play, no cohesion to their attacking. While Bradford played with pace, purpose and no little skill – poor playing surface or no playing surface – their opponents toiled aimlessly and made a succession of basic mistakes at the back. They failed to close down quickly enough and were always half a yard slower than the player they were up against. None of that can be attributed to an occasional bad bounce.

As a result, they find themselves out of the FA Cup despite having been drawn against three teams from the bottom half of the Championship or League One, and focused only on the battle to avoid relegation. On the evidence of yesterday, not to mention last Tuesday’s desperate home defeat to QPR, it would be wrong to take anything for granted.

The intensity of the pre-match atmosphere gave an indication of what was to follow on the field of play, but Sunderland’s players still appeared completely taken aback by the ferocity of Bradford’s start. As a result, they were behind inside the opening three minutes.

It was hardly a surprise to see the Bantams launching a succession of early long balls into the Sunderland box, or to see their players snapping into tackles as if their lives depended on it, yet the response from the visitors was one of hesitant surrender.

Billy Clarke had already dragged a second-minute shot narrowly wide when he found himself meeting Filipe Morais’ free-kick at the back post after a gaggle of Sunderland defenders inexplicably allowed the ball to bounce in the box.

The midfielder’s shot was creeping wide until John O’Shea attempted to block it, and the deflection took the ball beyond Vito Mannone and into the net.

It was the worst possible start for a side hardly brimming with confidence, but things might have been even worse had former Sunderland striker Jon Stead not glanced James Meredith’s cross wide from a position inside the six-yard box.

That chance came 16 minutes in, but Sunderland’s players had still not remotely got to grips with the chaotic nature of the contest at that stage. Tackles flew in from all directions, and while some, such as the clattering challenge from Rory McArdle that resulted in Danny Graham having to leave the field to have stitches in a head wound, warranted closer attention from referee Kevin Friend, it was only when the Black Cats realised they had to match Bradford’s whole-hearted approach rather than complain about it that they began to get a foothold in the game.

Even then they were still undone by Bradford’s quicksilver counter-attacking, and Vito Mannone produced an excellent parry to keep out Clarke’s drive after the home side’s goalscorer ghosted past three defenders on his way into the box.

While Bradford’s players pulled the ball wide at the earliest possible opportunity in an attempt to avoid the worst of the underfoot conditions, their opponents spent most of the afternoon trying to be far too intricate.

Ricky Alvarez looked completely unsuited to the uniquely English challenge he was presented with, while neither Steven Fletcher nor Danny Graham, who was replaced at half-time, were able to hold the ball up as effectively as Stead and James Hanson at the other end.

That said, however, the Black Cats should have had an 18th-minute penalty that might have checked Bradford’s momentum. Seb Larsson miscued a shot to Fletcher in the middle of the area, and McArdle’s tackle connected with the striker rather than the ball.

It should have been a spot-kick, and almost certainly a straight red card, although Friend’s oversight would have been irrelevant had Fletcher put the ball in the net rather than dawdling for what seemed like an eternity as he appeared to wait for an offside flag that was not forthcoming.

Graham showed more urgency shortly before the half-hour mark, only for his header from Adam Johnson’s cross to thud straight into Ben Williams’ chest, and the Bradford goalkeeper was called on again shortly after to keep out Patrick van Aanholt’s low strike.

In terms of Sunderland’s attacking threat, though, that was just about it. The half-time introduction of Connor Wickham did nothing to enhance the visitors’ potency, and Bradford deservedly doubled their lead shortly after the hour mark.

It took Stead 30 games to score for Sunderland earlier in his career, but the striker required just 62 minutes to score against them, albeit with the help of a defensive howler from Johnson.

The Black Cats winger tried to be far too clever when under pressure inside his own area, and instead of conceding a corner or throw in, he hooked a clearance straight to Hanson on the edge of the area.

Hanson nodded the ball into Stead’s path, and after turning adroitly, the much-derided marksman fired in a low shot that squeezed under Mannone. The Sunderland goalkeeper should have done much better, although his failings were merely in keeping with the struggles of his outfield team-mates.