After an Easter Saturday trip to Grimsby saw Sunderland narrowly return home with all three points, the lads faced Chesterfield on Easter Monday and won a topsy-turvy game 3-2. Two games in three days, two tight victories and six points added to the season’s total was just what the doctor ordered to cure the run-in jitters that had badly affected players and fans alike.
With a renewed sense of optimism and confidence, Sunderland traveled to Roots Hall to face a Southend team they’d beaten 7-0 in the reverse
fixture earlier in the season – however the time in between the bank holiday fixture and another trip south hadn’t all been plain sailing.
After the trouble at York a couple of weeks earlier, the club had been called to a disciplinary hearing in front of a three-man FA disciplinary team at Bootham Crescent. Bob Murray, Denis Smith, club secretary Geoff Davison, and Roker Park stadium manager Fred Bailey were called to give evidence in a tiring and lengthy session, which also saw match referee Paul Danson and his linesmen summoned to speak. A decision, they were told, wouldn’t be reached until a follow-up meeting at Hillsborough on 13 April. A fine seemed the likeliest outcome, although there was a strong possibility Sunderland fans could be banned from the remaining away games of the season, and the club were aggrieved that the panel didn’t want to read the ‘bundle of letters’ from irate fans complaining about York’s crowd control and what would today be called price gouging.
While things off the field may have been rather heavy going, on the field the team’s mood was buoyant, as they headed to Roots Hall on the back of two much needed wins.
Youngster Gary Owers had recovered from an injury suffered on Easter Monday to take his place in an unchanged line up, which included recent arrival Colin Pascoe.
It was Sunderland’s first ever visit to Southend – and they put on a show befitting of Champions-in-waiting in an exceptional first half display.
The lads were 3-0 up in just 26 minutes. John MacPhail opened the scoring from the spot on five minutes after Gabbiadini was sandwiched by two Southend defenders.
Southend briefly tried to get back into the game – Peter Butler putting a David Crown cross just wide of Iain Hesford’s post – before the Rokermen turned the screw.
MacPhail almost scored a second from a corner, while Paul Lemon forced a good save from keeper Paul Sansome, and was denied by a last-ditch tackle from Shane Westley.
However, on 16 minutes, Sunderland did increase the lead, and it was Lemon with his 12th goal of the season, forcing the ball home from close range after good work by Owers, Pascoe and Gabbiadini.
Armstrong headed against the bar, before Sunderland added the third – and this one was a brilliant header from Gabbiadini, who leapt higher than his markers and powered Armstrong’s corner home.
Southend did pull one back before half time through the impressive Crown, while MacPhail was lucky not to concede a penalty for handball just before the 45 was up.
The second half continued in the same vein as much of the first – Gabbiadini somehow managed to blast over from six yards after a brilliant run by Pascoe, who went past three defenders, and eventually a lovely diving header by Pascoe – on his 23rd birthday – sealed the win late on.
It was a fitting way for the former Swansea man to finish the game – he’d been exceptional and had reinvigorated this Sunderland team with his skill and work rate.
After the game, Smith was delighted for the team – as well as the well-behaved travelling fans, too.
That really takes the pressure off us. We’ve won the last three, and I must say there are very few nerves in the dressing-room at the moment. The lads are starting to relax a bit.
The first 30 minutes was the best we’ve played for a long time. It was a joy to watch, real First Division stuff. I’m delighted with the way the team played. Pascoe scored a great goal and set up a couple. We played some tremendous football and it really could have been more
We’ve got five games to go which is a lot but I’m obviously very pleased to be in the position we are.
I’m an arrogant so-and-so and I believe as we’re the best team in the league we’ve just got to prove it by finishing top in a month’s time and hopefully we’ll do just that.
Smith also praised the travelling supporters, after a week in which their reputation had suffered a bit of a battering.
That shows what they are like when they are not jammed into a ground and fenced in.
