Sunderland 2, Birmingham City 0
Jan 30 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
ON Monday Roy Keane spoke of how positive his first impressions of new signings Phil Bardsley and Rade Prica had been. Last night the pair were equally quick to win over the Sunderland supporters.
Bardsley created Daryl Murphy’s opening goal and, although Prica had to wait another 45 minutes for his own debut, the Swede got one of his own and should have had two.
The £2m striker had only been on 20 minutes when his quick thinking put the ball into the net for Sunderland’s second. Equally impressive improvisation saw him repeat the feat nine minutes later, only for Mark Halsey to disallow the goal for handball.
Nobody of a red-and-white persuasion seemed to mind too much at the end of the night, however, when a 2-0 win moved Sunderland up to 14th in the Premier League and maintained their impressive home form. Perhaps relieved by the notion he finally had some much-needed support at the sharp end of the Black Cats’ team, Kenwyne Jones showed an admirable willingness to chase seemingly lost causes and an incredible ability to recover them.
But it was the giant striker’s prodigious leap which led to Sunderland’s opening goal. Jones hung in the air before getting on the end of a Bardsley free-kick and heading it into the path of Murphy who, running to the near post, converted only his second goal of the season.
It was neither the first or last worthwhile contribution from debut man Bardsley. The “tough Salford lad” lived up to his pre-match billing with a welcome hunger for the tackle – and unlike some of his team-mates, when Bardsley throws himself at the ball, he tends to win it. He had already endeared himself to the home fans when he refused treatment after crunching into a tackle on Olivier Kapo, which briefly left him on the turf.
For all that they were much the better side in the first half, Sunderland did not create many clear-cut opportunities. Camerone Jerome could well have equalised six minutes before the break had Craig Gordon not been so quick off his line.
Nyron Nosworthy, though, was fortunate Halsey did not choose to punish his tackle on the striker, which connected after he had got his shot away.
Jones hit a couple of shots off target and when Dean Whitehead found him in injury-time, his turn was magnificent but his strike over the bar.
Prica’s first contribution of note was to send Ridgewell crashing to the floor after backing into the centre-back on what was to be for him a miserable night. It cost Prica a foul but earned him instant admiration from the terraces.
It was nothing compared to the next time he made Ridgwell wince, however, nipping in to beat Taylor to the skipper’s ambitious header from outside the area.
Sunderland would have suffered a similar fate had not Gordon reacted so quickly to Nosworthy’s own under-hit backpass, earning him a set of Jerome’s studs in the face along the way.
Murphy’s miss-hit cross in the 76th minute nearly dropped in, but for a touch from Taylor and when Roy O’Donovan played it back from the right his fellow substitute Prica stooped to head the ball which instead hit his arm.
Spinning on his backside to backheel it into the net, Prica was convinced he had scored his second, only to be called back from his celebration when Halsey adjudged handball. To rule that Prica’s arm had deliberately made contact with the ball was harsh from a referee who otherwise had a good game.
Only a good Taylor save and Ridgewell’s reaction to the loose ball prevented Prica righting the perceived wrong and soon after he flashed a header wide.
Birmingham looked more lively once Mauro Zarate was introduced. But in truth, while Sunderland did not play brilliantly, they were much better than Birmingham. On the final whistle Prica ran over to the section of the crowd who had mobbed him after scoring and deposited his shirt into the throng.
Most of the rest stood and waited to applaud him down the tunnel. It wasn’t bad for starters.
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The game at a glance
LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS
OLIVIER Kapo and James McFadden both tried to play ballboy and both will wish they hadn't. Kapo was clothes-lined by a pole supporting the net, while McFadden slipped embarrassingly on the running track.
FRIENDLY FIRE
DEAN Whitehead had 11 fired-up Birmingham players to contend with last night but the biggest danger to his well-being came from his own team-mate. Whitehead jumped to head a ball near his own line only to be clouted in the head by Dwight Yorke, leaping up behind him.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
SCORING on his debut made Rade Prica an instant Sunderland hero but there were other more subtle ways in which he improved the Black Cats. Now when Kenwyne Jones goes back for corners, someone stays up on the halfway line, not only making opposition players wary of piling forward but also stopping the ball coming straight back.
BLOTTED COPYBOOK
WITH a refreshing reluctance to reach for his card and clever use of the advantage rule, Mark Halsey was having an excellent game. The Lancashire referee's willingness to wave play on but bring it back if needed was good to see.
