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What The Gaffer Said
I kind of feel for Sam, even though our negativity in the second period almost cost us.
I think there was no problem in the game until they scored and then when we had to take Jan Kirchhoff off.
We didn’t keep our composure when we came back out for the second half and I’m disappointed with some of the decisions that have gone against us.
Fortunately, we rescued a point with an outstanding goal that I feel should have been the winner, however, because of certain decisions we’ve ended up with a draw.
It’s all credit to the Lads for coming back into it, we went a goal down on Saturday and took nothing from the game, but tonight we’ve taken a point.
Fabio Borini’s goal was an absolute wonder goal, the best I’ve seen in a long time.
A goal like that should get us three points, but unfortunately it didn’t.
We’re out of the bottom three for the first time, which is where we want to be, but we’ve still points to gain on our games played.
I hope that’s a psychological boost for the Lads, there are teams around us still to play and we need to see what happens. Everyone needs results and we must keep our nerve.
I’m glad to see Dame N’Doye get off the mark with his goal, but I thought we should have had another in the first half with Wahbi Khazri’s free kick.
We need a result against Southampton, every game we play away from home we have to be on top form and be more clinical in front of goal to try and get a result.
It's often far too easy to blame referees but Anthony Taylor was an absolute disgrace yesterday. What should have been a free-moving, easy-to-watch game was ruined by a whistle-happy official who had absolutely no intention of allowing the match to flow.
Sam keeps telling us 'we need to get a result' but the fact is that far too often we shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be more than capable of winning games. At half time we were comfortable.
Borini Proving His Worth With That Goal
Whether he meant it or not, the anger and passion Fabio Borini showed in scoring his goal is exactly what has been missing since he signed in the summer.
I know people think he's been hard done to and feel sorry for him because he hasn't played much recently but you have to remember how poor he's been for large portions of this season. For me, he's been far from a team player at times but I was absolutely over the moon that he was able to score last night and finally show us and the manager why we spent so much money bringing him to the football club.
He's eighty-million times better as a wide forward than Dame N'Doye ever will be, and it was up to him to prove his worth when he came on. He did just that.
Fabio - on the off chance you are reading this - don't forget the good stuff you did when we escaped relegation two years ago. You played with a point to prove then and your enthusiasm, passion and charisma was a large part of why we survived and got to a cup final that season. Me, as a fan - I'm looking to you to repeat that again. Sunderland supporters love nothing more than seeing someone give their absolute all for our team. It's going to take a togetherness and bond like no other to keep us from relegation, and characters like you are what we need to cultivate the rest of the squad and the fans.
It's not about you, it's about us all - keep proving why you should be starting games, because as a result the whole team will benefit.
Cattermole Looks Lost
Lee Cattermole was rightly dropped last night following a string of poor performances, and though he came on in the second half he didn't last long, largely due to a massive gash on his head that needed stitching up.
It might sound harsh, but I was glad he went off. The brief amount of time he was on the pitch he was absolutely shocking.
Sam Allardyce teams have no place for central midfielders that do nothing but harry the opposition and close down. You need to be offering more than that. For a brief period it seemed Cattermole had found his place in the side but when you see him alongside quality defensive midfielders in Jan Kirchhoff and Yann M'Vila, it becomes very clear just how many limitations he has.
I'm Cattermole's biggest fan and I hope he bounces back from this spell of form quickly, but he needs to do it fast. He needs to see the impact that his other midfield compatriots are having and should use it as a chance to prove his worth to the side, much like Borini did last night.
You can have passion in abundance, but as long as you aren't providing the quality a side like ours needs you will struggle to stand out. I'd imagine he'll be nowhere near the starting eleven again at the weekend, and as much as it pains me to say it, I feel it's probably for the best.
Rodwell Steadily Improving
Jack Rodwell looked very comfortable last night playing in front of the blanket that M'Vila and Kirchhoff provide and it's nice to see his performances steadily improving.
I'm one of his biggest doubters, but in recent weeks he's done fairly well coming into the side and he deserves credit for it. He was rather harshly booked and with that it meant he was limited to how full-on he could be, but overall he played that box-to-box role well I felt.
Keep it up.
Early Leavers
I'll never understand why people leave games ridiculously early. Not that it particularly bothers me - it's none of my business - but I still find it odd. People have their reasons and I'm sure most of them are valid, I just felt slightly disappointed to see so many people leave the game around the eightieth minute when we're neck-deep in a relegation battle.
We're near the top of the list when it comes to Premier League teams that score goals late in the game, so personally I'd never think of leaving the match early. I couldn't live with myself If I'd taken time out of my day to attend a game, only to miss a really important goal because I might get home ten minutes quicker.
I'll admit, I was happy most of them missed a world class equaliser.
