Bolton Wanderers 0, Sunderland 0
May 11 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
GIVEN that so little is known about him, it is hard to say for certain, but it is probably safe to assume Ellis Short does not know a great deal about football.
Yet in a stroke, the reclusive Texan billionaire managed to do what Ricky Sbragia has failed to and kick-start a season which was fading at just the wrong time.
The evidence at the Reebok Stadium showed it will take plenty of his cash, not mere words, to ensure Sunderland do not spend next May sitting as uncomfortably as they will tonight, however.
Since February, the Black Cats have looked like a long-distance runner whose legs have gone. Slowly, inexorably, they have been dragged into the pack and with the bell sounded for the final lap, they could find themselves in the final three positions by the time they cross the finishing line. But a dressing room announcement of Short’s plans for next season, delivered before kick-off, seemed to give Sunderland a second wind against a side jogging down the home straight.
Sbragia produced the tactics and the players displayed the confidence and commitment he and they have so badly failed to bring out on a match day in recent months. Even with all that, though, they failed to find the punch which would have made tonight’s Tyne-Tees derby comfortable viewing.
The Wearsiders edged a point closer to the safety Bolton Wanderers are already enjoying but the cigars must stay in their boxes for now.
Until the final whistle at least, tonight’s car-crash television can probably only be enjoyed from a neutral perspective.
That Sbragia will be hiding in the sanctuary of his local nervously awaiting the text message he hopes will tell him his neighbours have cut one another’s throats tells you Sunderland are more than bystanders. The Black Cats could travel to Portsmouth a week today mathematically safe or in the bottom three.
More likely they will still be in limbo thanks to Saturday’s failure to turn chances into possession.
Sunderland mixed attractive passing with the odd bit of Bolton football to constantly cut through their lacklustre hosts, particularly in the first half.
