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Post by Football News on Apr 30, 2016 16:21:47 GMT
Stoke 1 - 1 SunderlandSunderland into bottom three despite late Jermain Defoe penalty at StokeHome team scorers Marko Arnautovic 50 Jermain Defoe rescued a crucial point for Sunderland in their fight to stay up with a stoppage-time penalty in their draw with Stoke City. Sam Allardyce had witnessed a choked, spluttering display from his players for much of this contest and they appeared to be heading for a damaging 1-0 defeat before Defoe saved them. Although Newcastle United’s victory over Crystal Palace meant that Sunderland slipped into the bottom three after this draw, Allardyce’s team still have their fate in their own hands with three matches left. They have a game in hand on their rivals and will stay up if they win all of them. Yet there will have to be a vast improvement in order for that to happen. They began the afternoon knowing that a win would keep them a place above the bottom three, regardless of how Norwich City and Newcastle fared against Arsenal and Palace respectively, but Sunderland’s lack of incision during the first half was summed up by the sight of a furious Allardyce storming into his technical area to remonstrate with Patrick van Aanholt for wastefully shooting straight at Jakob Haugaard from 18 yards instead of playing in Wahbi Khazri. Sunderland’s attacking threat was meagre before the break and while their commitment could not be questioned, they were laboured and unimaginative in possession, guilty both of taking too long on the ball in midfield and sending too many long passes towards Defoe. Although Sunderland’s lone striker was dangerous on the rare occasions when he did receive the ball to his feet, aiming one effort too close to Haugaard after a clever turn, the visitors were doing little to test a defence that has been generous in the extreme in recent weeks. Stoke had conceded 12 goals in their previous three matches and were without a win since 19 March, explaining why there was an assumption that they would be there for the taking. For what it was worth, however, they were marginally the more enterprising side for long spells, despite the sense that their season is drifting towards an unsatisfactory conclusion, and created the clearest opportunities in the first half. Peter Crouch went close with two headers, with Vito Mannone forced to scramble the first one wide, and Sunderland were also indebted to a poor finish from the unmarked Marko Arnautovic, who blazed over after fine work from Giannelli Imbula. Sunderland’s players were greeted by a huge roar of encouragement from the away end when they emerged for the start of the second half and Allardyce had clearly decided that more positivity was required, ditching his 4-1-4-1 system and moving Fabio Borini up front to provide more support for Defoe. Yet the change in formation and the vociferous backing from their supporters failed to produce the breakthrough Sunderland so desperately craved and instead their task became even harder when they fell behind five minutes into the second half. Stoke had consistently sought out Crouch with high, diagonal crosses from deep positions and when Charlie Adam picked out the striker from the left, he rose above Kaboul and nodded the ball down for Arnautovic, who shook off Lamine Koné before driving a low volley under Mannone. Allardyce was livid, arguing that Crouch had pushed Kaboul in the back, but the referee Craig Pawson disagreed and the bigger problem for Sunderland, scrambling to save their Premier League lives, was that Newcastle were winning. Stoke’s lead rarely looked in threat. Defoe was unable to keep two presentable opportunities below the bar and, despite reinforcing their attack with the introductions of Dame N’Doye and Duncan Watmore, Sunderland appeared to have run out of ideas long before the board went up to show four minutes of stoppage time. Yet there would be one final twist. Yann M’Vila found Defoe just inside the Stoke area and, after he was fouled by Geoff Cameron, the striker sent Haugaard the wrong way from the spot to spark joyous celebrations in the away end. Guardian
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