After heavy funding in the summertime, Steve Bruce had goals on enhancing on Sunderland’s Thirteenth-placed end the earlier season. With a heavy reliance on Darren Bent within the 2009-10 season, it was hoped that signings resembling Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan would lighten the load on the England worldwide.
Regardless of this, the staff had a reasonably regular however underwhelming starting to their marketing campaign. While not shedding many video games, the staff was at the moment on a six-game draw streak as they welcomed Aston Villa to the Stadium of Mild on at the present time in 2010.
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Villa have been managed by Gérard Houllier and have been the definition of a ‘Barclays’ staff whenever you see the names that have been on their staff sheet under. Additionally they weren’t in precisely nice type both, with defeats in 4 of their earlier 5 away video games and arriving within the North East off the again of goalless attracts final day trip.
The patchy type of either side truly performed into making this a good contest, with either side displaying respectable attacking threats from the off. For Sunderland, Steed Malbranque headed large from Jordan Henderson’s cross earlier than Downing drilled in opposition to a put up after latching on to Ashley Younger’s slide-rule move.
Villa definitely began the sport higher and felt they need to have had a penalty early on when Nigel Reo-Coker was taken down by Titus Bramble within the field. With the Villa appeals waved away, the house aspect slowly grew in confidence after using the early storms.
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Simply earlier than the opening – and solitary – purpose of the sport arrived, Darren Bent nearly related with one other Jordan Henderson centre earlier than the breakthrough arrived. The purpose was one which Villa defender Richard Dunne won’t replicate fondly on, as Malbranque acquired the higher of Stiliyan Petrov on the suitable and gleefully appeared on as Dunne by chance volleyed his right-wing cross previous Brad Friedel on the close to put up.
Momentum had swung in Sunderland’s course, and Ahmed Elmohamady and Danny Welbeck have been making an attempt so as to add to the primary purpose, just for Friedel, who was in his sometimes imperious type within the Aston Villa purpose.
With the truth that we had solely received one sport to date this season, the Stadium of Mild grew to become edgy within the second half as Villa grew to become the dominant drive within the sport. As they made a constructive begin to the second half, Ashley Younger was arrange by Downing, just for Cattermole’s problem to take away some sting from the shot.
Younger was additionally squeezed out by a mixture of Onuoha and Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet, whereas Villa wasted a wonderful opening when Heskey missed Downing’s low cross and Younger’s follow-up fizzed large.
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Groans and jeers have been deafening within the Stadium of Mild because the collective nervousness translated onto the pitch. Late on, Jordan Henderson cleared off our line, together with Richard Dunne nearly atoning for his error.
Late on, Steve Bruce introduced on summer season signing Asamoah Gyan within the hope that his tempo could occupy and stretch the Villa defence, and he nearly scored a second Sunderland purpose in damage time to complete the sport off. In the long run, we acquired the 1-0 win, and while we have been underneath the cosh for many of the second half, it appeared that Bruce was blissful along with his staff’s victory.
Seven video games unbeaten within the Premier League takes some doing, irrespective of who you play in opposition to, so there’s a little bit of resilience.
We invested closely within the back-four and the goalkeeper, and once I look behind me and I’ve acquired 4 individuals who performed within the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and I’ve acquired Britain’s costliest goalkeeper sitting behind me too.
We now have acquired a very good look about us, so I’m happy. There’s a resilience about us, which was the very first thing I wished to attempt to tackle after we got here right here.
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Bramble, Onuoha, Elmohamady, Zenden (90), Henderson, Cattermole, Malbranque (Mensah 82), Welbeck (Gyan 66); Bent. Subs not used: Gordon, da Silva, Riveros, Ferdinand.
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Aston Villa: Friedel, Beye, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Downing, Petrov (Sidwell 40), Reo-Coker, Younger, Eire (Albrighton 55); Heskey. Subs not used: Guzan, Cuéllar, Bannan, Carew, Clark.