Swansea 2 - 4 Sunderland
Jermain Defoe hat-trick sees Sunderland sink 10-man SwanseaHome team scorersGylfi Sigurdsson 21 Pen
Andre Ayew 40
Away team scorersJermain Defoe 3
Patrick Van Aanholt 49
Jermain Defoe 61
Jermain Defoe 85
Jermain Defoe scores the second goal of his hat-trick securing a vital three points for Sunderland. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
When the dust settles on this extraordinary match – and that could take a while – the referee will cease to become the main talking point for Swansea City and the threat of relegation will start to bite. Graham Scott, who was asked to take charge of the game at short notice after Andre Marriner pulled out on Monday, looked like an official totally out of his depth at this level, yet that will not bother Sam Allardyce and his Sunderland players in the slightest.
Inspired by Jermain Defoe, who completed his hat-trick five minutes from time, Sunderland picked up the most precious of victories to move within one point of Swansea and give their survival hopes a huge boost. It was a crazy game and Swansea will lament the moment when Scott dismissed Kyle Naughton in the 37th minute for a challenge on Yann M’Vila that was not worthy of a free-kick never mind a straight red card.
Sunderland, in fairness, were also hard done by when Scott, who was refereeing only his fourth Premier League match, gave Swansea a penalty that never was early in the first half. Gylfi Sigurdsson converted and Andre Ayew’s superb finish put Alan Curtis’s team ahead before half-time but the numerical advantage eventually told. Patrick van Aanholt hauled Sunderland level with a deflected shot and the evergreen Defoe then took over with two typically opportunist goals.
The game was played at a breathless pace and there were so many talking points that it was difficult to know where to start. Swansea, after a calamitous start, recovered well but that was only part of the story of a frantic opening 45 minutes that featured three goals, a red card and a penalty.
It would be fair to say that the officials hardly covered themselves in glory and it would have been fascinating to be a fly on the wall in their changing room at half-time. Defoe looked to be offside when he put Sunderland ahead, Ayew was extremely fortunate to be awarded a penalty and Naughton was dismissed despite clearly getting the ball. Other than that Scott and his assistants did OK.
The tone was set for a helter-skelter match when Lukasz Fabianski gifted Sunderland the lead. Fabianski, trying to find Neil Taylor from a goalkick, drilled the ball straight at Adam Johnson, who cut inside and fed Fabio Borini on the left. Borini’s low shot was parried by the Swansea keeper and Defoe, from only two yards out, tapped home.
Ayew, lashing wildly over, had a chance to equalise within 60 seconds and two minutes later Johnson should have doubled Sunderland’s lead but got in a tangle and side-footed well wide. Then came that harsh penalty. M’Vila’s loose pass was intercepted by Modou Barrow, who fed the marauding Ayew. The striker got away from Wes Brown but then kicked the turf instead of the ball. Scott, however, adjudged Brown to have fouled Ayew and pointed to the spot. Sigurdsson dispatched his kick with confidence and Swansea were level.
The home team, however, were reduced to 10 men eight minutes before the break, when Naughton was harshly dismissed. The full-back’s studs were raised but he took the ball and not the man. M’Vila’s theatrics hardly helped the situation yet it was still a poor decision from Scott. Allardyce looked across at Curtis, his opposite number, and laughed.
Yet that injustice seemed to galvanise Swansea and moments later they had the lead. Fabianski’s distribution was spot on this time, with the goalkeeper’s raking kick picking out Ayew, who outpaced Lee Cattermole in the inside left channel and struck a sumptuous left-footed angled drive that fizzed between Billy Jones’ legs and into the far corner.
Curtis quickly made a change, sacrificing Leon Britton, who was making his 500th appearance for the club, and replacing him with Ángel Rangel. If the interval gave everyone a chance to gather their thoughts, the second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Van Aaaholt, who was lively on Sunderland’s left flank, cutting inside and hitting an 18-yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Federico Fernández’s back and went in off the far upright.
The momentum of the game shifted again as Sunderland began to attack with more purpose. With the angle against him, Jermain Lens struck the foot of the post in a warning of what was to come for Swansea. Shortly afterwards Johnson, with a measured pass, set Defoe free of the Swansea defence. It was another close call as to whether he was offside or not but the flag stayed down and Defoe rolled the ball past Fabianski with the minimum of fuss.
Defoe was not finished and scored his third when he tucked in Van Aanholt’s low centre.
Guardian
