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The relief was palpable as Bruce and the players finally notched up the first win of the season on Sunday afternoon and relieved some of the pressure that may have been beginning to mount on the gaffer. Personally I attribute the stuttering start to the mass, yet necessary, upheaval over the Summer months and on Sunday it finally looked as if the gaffer knew his strongest eleven and the team seemed to be beginning to gel in all areas of the pitch. One, of the many, positives from the day was the number of chances that our midfield managed to create and the deadfall specialist Larsson who was a constant thorn in Stoke’s side.
So as the Swede was rightfully rewarded for his efforts on the day with a goal direct from a free kick it got me thinking how good it is as a fan to see a free kick sail over the wall and into the back of the net, especially as a SAFC fan given how inept we have been from such positions for what feels like an eternity. So in turn I thought to myself what better way to celebrate Seb's strike than with a look back at my Top Ten SAFC goals direct from a free kick.
So lets get started!
10. Ross Wallace vs Southampton 2006
Whilst the hosts huffed and puffed for long spells of the game at the Stadium of Light they had to be content with a point following a last gasp equaliser from some unknown lad by the name of Gareth Bale, wonder what he’s upto these days. Anyway, Sunderland finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Rudolf Skacel fouled Graham Kavanagh just outside of the
9. Martin Scott vs
In the second round of the Worthington Cup Martin Scott proved that his left peg was just as deadly from 25 yards out as it was from 12 as the reliable penalty kick taker stepped up to rifle a free kick home in the cup clash. Poignantly it was Scott’s first goal for over two years as the full back made a strong claim for his left back berth having recovered from an injury ravaged two seasons. The goal itself came after thirty minutes when Alex Rae was felled by Chris Priest and Scott, the captain for the night, stepped up and slammed the ball past the wall and into the net. Welcome back Scotty!
8. Claudio Reyna vs Leicester 2002
Claudio Reyna was a record transfer for Sunderland at the time costing the club a mammoth £4.5m but the USA International went some way to repaying his fee with a brace at home to
I found this rather yank-tastic tribute video for Claudio, so enjoy the American's doing what the American's do best with this piece:
7. Dean Whitehead vs Spurs 2005
Mick McCarthy’s
6. Julio Arca vs Middlesbrough 2005
The invisible man Tommy Miller had given the visitors the lead inside 90 seconds before Arca sealed the points for
As the youtube description states: "Mint free kick"
5. Don Hutchison vs West Ham 2001
In a game of little incident, either controversial or exciting it was left to the Scottish midfielder to serve up a moment of quick thinking which sealed the three points for the visiting side. Media darling-to-be Frank Lampard was adjudged to have fouled Gavin McCann around 25 yards out and whilst the West Ham defence and substitute goalkeeper Craig Forrest were trying to meticulously position their wall Hutchison caught them all off guard with an early free kick. A great example of the vision and creativity the midfielder had on the pitch.
So I couldn't find a video of Hutchison's cheeky effort but I thought everyone deserves to see his flat cap in this video, just so the next time you run into the midfielder you can give him some stick he truly deserves! what was he thinking?
4. Sean Thornton vs Rotherham 2005
Whilst Sunderland were advancing towards automatic promotion
3. Andy Reid vs West Ham 2009
Ten man
"Hit it you fat c*** for f**** sake" exclaims the West Ham fan in this video... Reid duly obliged.
2. Chris Waddle vs Everton 1997
The last ever league game at
1. Kieran Richardson vs Newcastle 2008
Well, it had to be didn’t it? I’ll make no excuses for making Kieran’s superb goal my number one! It had everything, the setting, the time in the game and the quality of the set piece itself. After El-Hadji Diouf was felled by Nicky Butt just outside the box following a neat interchange with Steed Malbranque Keiran took custody of the ball and waited for the jostling in
Did I miss anything? Let us know your favourite SAFC free kick in the comments below and vote for your choice in the poll.