CONSIDERING it was a long trip north of the border, Sunderland can afford to be pleased with themselves for their afternoon’s work. Their first 90 minutes on UK soil against Dundee United showed glimpses of what they can offer going forward this season whilst their rearguard dealt with any danger that came their way.
Despite the margin of the scoreline, there was a stark difference in quality between the two teams. A strong Black Cats side monopolised possession against a Dundee United side who mainly aimed to hit Tony Watt with direct balls forward. Sunderland’s cohort of technical midfielders were comfortable in possession and were putting the ball to good use. A bright start was capped off when Dan Neil showed good footwork to beat his man on the left and float a cross to Ross Stewart who diverted his header wide.
Patrick Roberts was finding plenty of joy on the right-hand side. After pinching possession in midfield, Roberts had the chance to feed the run of Stewart to one side or Leon Dajaku to the other. Instead, he went alone and saw his shot was blocked out by Charlie Mulgrew.
The winger came close to making amends when an eye-of-the-needle pass cut through the Dundee defence and fed the run of Stewart but the Scotsman was denied the chance to score on home soil as Carljohan Eriksson stopped his low shot with his legs.
The home barely had a sniff in the first period but the chances were few and far between. Sunderland waned in their authority towards the end of the half but were still showing their quality on the ball. They just needed to reward the travelling support with a goal.
The first five minutes of the second half were more lively than the entire first half with both sides going end-to-end. Liam Smith powered a header over the bar before Dan Ballard was forced to clear another chance of his bar from Watt. Up the other end, Dan Neil’s goalbound header was clawed away by Eriksson who dived low to his left.
But the away side made their breakthrough just minutes later and rewarded the travelling support who were perched in The Carling Stand. A well worked move, a floated cross from Dennis Cirkin and an ill-judged punch from Eriksson led to Trai Hume heading the ball into an empty net.
The Black Cats doubled their lead ten minutes later and it was a goal that you would tend to see on old DVDs of howlers. Charlie Mulgrew swept the ball back to his keeper from the halfway line but overhit the pass. Eriksson attempted to clamber back to eat up the yards but couldn’t make it as the ball rolled in.
While the second goal might have been incidental, it was only what they deserve.
Archie Meekinson was providing some threat for the home side and twice tested Anthony Patterson with shots from range but the Sunderland keeper showed strong hands to palm both efforts away. The flurry of substitutes came on for both sides with new signing Aji Alese getting his first minutes in a Sunderland shirt. But with the victory virtually sealed, Sunderland eased off the gas and strolled their way through the remainder of the half.
Dundee United continued to show various spells of pressure but ultimately the ball wasn’t dropping their way and they weren’t getting the rub of the green. From Sunderland’s own goal, the luck was on their side. Onto Tuesday where a trip to Valley Parade awaits. One down, three to go before the start of the season.
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