Sunderland 0, Chelsea 1

Mar 17 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

IF John Terry thinks the last time he scored for Chelsea seems a long time ago, he should try being a Sunderland player. Most of the present Black Cats squad had not even joined by September 20, 2006, but those that had were part of a club threatening to hit the depths.

Dean Whitehead, Grant Leadbitter and Daryl Murphy were licking their wounds after defeat at Roots Hall, little realising their nadir was around the corner when Bury visited in the League Cup two days later. Nineteen months on, the Black Cats have been transformed from the managerless side which looked like it would only leave the Championship by relegation.

Having escaped the division through the front door rather than the back, Sunderland’s current goal is to ensure there is no return to such pokey grounds next season. While Saturday’s performance against Chelsea gave cause for optimism that they might succeed, Terry’s first-half header meant they are no closer to doing so. Scoring was the least of Sunderland’s problems at Southend – Jon Stead managed it – but a lack of confidence at the business end threatens to undermine them now.

The Wearsiders carved out three good chances – all headers – against a team whose chances of winning the Premier League have improved considerably since their FA Cup humiliation at Barnsley eight days ago. But it is 375 minutes of playing time since Sunderland scored.

Having been rightly lauded for his performances, Kenwyne Jones again showed his aerial ability against one of English football’s best headers in Terry. But like his team, Jones’ impressive performance went unrewarded. He has not scored in 2008 (and has only one in his last 19 games) and appears to be feeling the effects of a season in which far too often he has lacked support as badly as the steward who leant on an advertising hoarding in the second half, only for it to collapse.

Having seen how Jones had played in the previous 75 minutes, one would have expected him to gobble the opportunity Dwight Yorke provided with the first of two excellent balls from deep. Instead, the towering Trinidadian glanced the ball into Carlo Cudicini’s grasp. When substitute Yorke gave him a second chance 15 minutes later Jones produced a better contact but directed it over the crossbar.

Earlier Danny Collins headed off target at a corner. All three chances owed much to the attacker’s ability to hang above his man, but were the type that need to be taken against teams of Chelsea’s calibre. The Londoners looked surprisingly vulnerable defending set pieces without Ricardo Carvalho or Petr Cech so it was ironic that a corner decided the contest in their favour – Terry losing Jones at the near post to head in his side’s fourth corner of a game still in its 10th minute.

Rather than fold, Sunderland were inspired. Although Phil Bardlsey and Nyron Nosworthy made brilliant last-ditch tackles on Salomon Kalou and Michael Ballack respectively and Didier Drogba put an injury-time free-kick fractionally wide, at 1-0 the Black Cats looked the more likely scorers – Roy O’Donovan’s header and Andy Reid’s free-kick forcing Cudicini into action more than he would, perhaps, have expected before he arrived at the stadium.

Before the match Roy Keane promised the home fans his real team was at last coming into sight, so some might have been forgiven for thinking there had been a mistake when O’Donovan’s name was read out rather than that of the fit Kieran Richardson. The Irishman made good use of his first Sunderland start at centre-forward, however, outshining his strike partner. While not worthy of a penalty, when Terry fell on top of O’Donovan in the seventh minute it showed he and his team had their visitors rattled. The flood of minor flashpoints were a product of that, Sunderland’s intensity and Mike Dean’s weakness as players reacted to boots left in and theatrical tumbles.

If O’Donovan exceeded expectations, Carlos Edwards was never likely to meet them on his return from a 15-match lay-off broken only by 60 minutes in the reserves. The winger skied one opportunity after Reid hooked the ball across but otherwise made little impact against popular crowd villain Ashley Cole.

The last chance of the game came in its fourth added minute, Jones turning creator to nod into Whitehead’s path. The midfielder was narrowly unable to provide the finish his chest control and swivel deserved, not to mention the point his side merited. Hard luck stories will not be enough, though, if Sunderland are not to swap trips to Stamford Bridge for another tour of the Championship’s less salubrious venues.