SAFC’s Top Ten Premier League Screamers: 10-6 - which goals have made our list?

There have been many great goals scored by the our players in the Premier League; from bullet headers, to sublime lobs, to well worked team efforts - you name it and there’s a Sunderland goal to match it.

My personal favourites, however, are long-range screamers. The pot shots, the ones with enough power, speed and accuracy to race past the goalkeeper leaving him flapping at thin air. They are a thing of beauty that you can’t help but watch again and again.

Here’s part one of my top ten Premier League screamers scored by the Lads.

10. Gavin McCann - Arsenal 2-2 Sunderland - 30/12/00 - Highbury

Pick that one out! The good old days when we could go to places like Highbury, go two goals down before half time and still fight our way to a draw. Coming off the back of 4-1 Boxing Day win at Bradford, we sat comfortably in fourth after a stirring second half comeback. This screamer from the former Everton man travelled so fast, the camera-man couldn’t keep up with it! Superb.

9. Seb Larsson - Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland - 16/10/11 - Emirates Stadium

Remember when our beautiful Swede could do this? It’s easy to forget, but his first season at the club yielded eight goals. This was the pick of the bunch, however. Against his former club, in their new stadium he whipped an inch perfect free kick into the top corner with consummate ease. Szczesny couldn’t get even close to it.

8. Lee Cattermole - West Brom 2-2 Sunderland - 16/8/14 - The Hawthorns

You’ve not had any footy for two months, and you’re desperate for the season to kick off. Your team just pulled off the greatest of great escapes the season before, and you’re excited for the first game of the season. Who would be the man to bag Sunderland’s first goal of the season? Wickham, Fletcher, Danny Graham!?

Nah, try Lee Cattermole. An absolute screamer inside six minutes lasered into the top right corner - it was the stuff of dreams. He doesn’t score many, if at all - but when we does, they’re worth a second look. Lee Lee Lee!

7. Chris Waddle - Sunderland 3-0 Everton - 3/5/97 - Roker Park

The final league game at Roker Park saw local lad Chris Waddle write his name into folklore with a free kick of sublime quality. The winger was ageing, but his quality of delivery from the flanks was as good as ever.

Stepping up to take the free kick, the Roker crowd waited with baited breath as an air of expectation filled the old stadium. Waddle stepped up confidently before crashing home a blistering shot straight into the top corner. Unstoppable.

6. Phil Bardsley - Aston Villa 0-1 Sunderland - 5/1/11 - Villa Park

There’s a few Bardo screamers that could have found their way into this list, but I’m going to go with his first. A midweek game down in the Midlands had swung in our favour with an Emile Heskey red card in the final quarter of the match. Prior to this game, the right back would occasionally send the odd speculative effort towards goal with little success, so you can forgive the away contingent for not being too excited when a deflected free kick fell to Bardsley’s feet twenty-five yards out.

They should have been though, because after his first touch settled the ball nicely the adopted-Scot unleashed an absolute arrow into bottom corner. Bardsley became a bit of a long range specialist after this effort, too. Lovely stuff from the Salford lad, and a great way to open your account.

And there you have it, part one of our top ten Sunderland goals. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below - do you think we made a decent start to the list?