Crystal Palace crisis compounded by unwavering Sunderland spirit at the Stadium of Light
Despite falling behind against Crystal Palace, Sunderland once again recovered to claim all three points on home soil in the Premier League.
As weeks in football go, Crystal Palace’s last seven days have been far from ideal. The holders of the FA Cup were knocked out by National League North Macclesfield FC in this season’s Third Round last Saturday. Then came the double blow that captain Marc Guéhi is on the verge of completing a move to Manchester City, and Head Coach Oliver Glasner will depart at the end of the season.
Seeking solace at the Stadium of Light was hardly what the Eagles would have wanted, given Sunderland’s unbeaten home record in the Premier League this season. Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have all ventured to Wearside this season, and all left without a victory.
Conversely, Sunderland were without a top flight win since their triumph in the Tyne-Wear derby, and strangely, in what has been such a positive season, the Black Cats were also in need of a win. And yet, the Stadium of Light was filled with confidence ahead of kick off.
Therefore, Yéremy Pino’s goal from a corner on the half hour mark, came not only as a frustration for Sunderland, but also a concern that they really were in a mid-season rut. Enzo Le Fée had other ideas, however.
Only minutes after Pino’s strike, Sunderland’s French talisman found the bottom corner in the middle of the box, from a ball played in by Nordi Mukiele, and well left by Brian Brobbey. Relief swept around like a warm blanket, and Sunderland began to relax.
The Black Cats are no strangers to falling behind at home this season, but their unbeaten record remains, which meant with the score level at the break, it seemed almost inevitable that Sunderland would get at least a point from proceedings.
As it turned out, Régis Le Bris’ side claimed all three. Palace, despite their brief first half lead, wilted in the second period, as if all of the pressure, frustration and uncertainty of the last week rained down on them in unwavering fashion.
The second period lacked quality in the opening minutes, but Sunderland soon took control, and applied pressure to their opponents’ back line. A second goal for the Black Cats was clearly coming, with Oliver Glasner signing a new contract at Selhurst Park looking more likely than a Palace goal at that point.
It was Sunderland’s number 9, Brian Brobbey who won the game for them. The Dutch forward had been embroiled in a tussle all game with Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, with referee Rob Jones rarely siding with the Sunderland man. All of that frustration was put into his strike in the 71st minute, which crashed in off the crossbar, sending the Stadium of Light wild.
Sunderland dropped deep in the final minutes as they looked to see out the victory, which invited Palace forward, but such was the away side’s lack of composure in the final third, their attempts at a late flurry were anything but threatening.
The match was by no means a classic, but it was an important return to form for Sunderland. The Black Cats are edging ever closer to Régis Le Bris’ 40-point target, but despite 33 points having been achieved after only 22 games, Sunderland’s Head Coach is still refusing to look beyond his checkpoint. However, if Le Bris is not, many Sunderland supporters certainly will be.