After a shaky start to the season, Sunderland delved into the transfer market late in the window to boost Dick Advocaat’s side for the season ahead. An opening-day drubbing against Leicester City was followed up with a horrendous home defeat against Norwich City, along with two draws against Aston Villa and Swansea to end the month. This led to typical discontent and anxiety amongst the fanbase.
In a bid to eradicate the fears of the fans, Sunderland had a late flurry in the transfer window, which
saw them finally bring in Liverpool’s Fabio Borini, along with Ola Toivonen, to help Jermain Defoe up top.
On this day, fans got their first glimpse of their new boys, with the aforementioned duo joining Defoe in an attacking trio as the team took on Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light. Managed by Mauricio Pochettino and littered with world-class players such as Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, and Kyle Walker, this was always going to be a tough task for the home side.
That being said, this game pitted two teams that had both failed to win a game yet this season, which added to the intrigue of this encounter. As expected, with the new signings in the team, Sunderland made a fast start, with Borini looking particularly sprightly early doors.
In a game where chances were few and far between, it was essential that we scored one of the big chances, but unfortunately, when a fantastic ball put Jermain Defoe through, his shot cannoned off the post inexplicably, as he was the man you would have wanted to have that opportunity.
This was a let-off for the London club, who created absolutely nothing in the first half, with their new signing Son struggling. He was tasked with taking all the set pieces; however, most of his deliveries were poor, and he air-kicked when he had the chance to score from six yards in the first half. He came off in the 62nd minute.
Just as the game was settling for a 0 – 0 draw, Spurs struck, fortunately for them, late on through Ryan Mason. After playing a one-two, Mason’s run was not tracked, and he dinked his shot past the onrushing Costel Pantilimon, injuring himself while doing so.
Late on, we put the pressure on and nearly got a goal, as Jack Rodwell rattled the crossbar in added time to rescue a deserved point for the home side, but it wasn’t to be for the team, as our winless run went on.
After the game, Advocaat lamented the fitness of the team and stated that the speed of the game had some of his players exhausted near the end.
“We had the better chances at the start. We knew we were playing against a good side, and the speed of the game was unbelievable. Some players could not handle it in the end.
“We had to score a goal, but it was not to be. At the end of the game, the better side had more luck than we had. Some players still need match fitness.
“Everyone did well, but up front we could not score that chance we got.”
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Jones, Van Aanholt, O’Shea, Kaboul, M’Vila, Borini, Lens, Defoe, Toivonen, Gomez. Subs: Cattermole, Rodwell, Watmore.
