Sunderland 1-0 WatfordHome team scorersPatrick Van Aanholt 49
David Moyes may have no money to spend at Sunderland next month and remains somewhat shocked by the news that the club is up for sale but at least he has Patrick van Aanholt on his side.
This most attacking left-back has now out-scored all other Premier League defenders by registering seven goals since the start of last season. Van Aanholt’s latest strike, shot in off the inside of a post, proved sufficient to lift Moyes’s team to the dizzy heights of 18th and spare them the psychological burden of being bottom at Christmas.
At the end of a week in which Sunderland’s manager made it crystal clear that he feels badly let down by the failure of Ellis Short, the club’s owner, to honour perceived assurances that there would be money to spend in January this represented a most welcome boost.
It will leave Watford ruing the litany of chances they spurned on a day when Walter Mazzarri’s players appeared capable of inflicting further pain on Moyes but were repeatedly thwarted by an amalgam of sub-standard final balls and Jordan Pickford.
The England under-21 goalkeeper quickly emphasised his importance to Sunderland with a stunning diversion of Nordin Amrabat’s top corner bound volley following an Étienne Capoue corner won in the wake of Odion Ighalo’s defence bisecting advance.
Excellent with his feet as well as his hands, it would not be too much of a surprise were Pep Guardiola to try and buy Moyes’s keeper for Manchester City next month.
For the moment though Pickford remains a vital element of Sunderland’s survival bid but even he must have been relieved to see Donald Love slice José Holebas’s menacing low cross to safety just as Ighalo looked poised to pounce.
Creating a series of half chances, Mazzarri’s team appeared the more dangerous and de-stabilised either Lamine Koné or Papy Djilobodji almost every time they attacked with Ighalo, in particular, seemingly unnerving the home back line. Watford really should have taken the lead when Miguel Britos connected with a Holebas free kick but the defender somehow headed wide from point blank range and Sunderland were reprieved.
Having switched to 4-2-3-1 from the reasonably resilient 3-4-3 formation deployed during Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea, Moyes’s players looked distinctly less secure but at least they had Victor Anichebe restored to fitness and worrying Watford a little.
Indeed Christian Kabasele, on for the injured Sebastian Prödl, found Anichebe so irritating he attempted to get him sent off by collapsing holding his face after the pair challenged for the ball. Admittedly, the Sunderland forward flung out an arm during their tussle but it made contact at chest rather than chin level and Anichebe merely received a talking to while locals branded Kabasele a “cheat.”
Roused by the crowd’s annoyance, Sunderland finally placed Watford under slight pressure and Patrick van Aanholt saw a shot blocked by Heurelho Gomes, the visitor’s hitherto underworked goalkeeper. Van Aanholt though appeared offside, which seemed somewhat emblematic of his side’s performance.
No matter; with the tension mounting van Aanholt rather unexpectedly gave Sunderland a 49th-minute lead with only their second real chance of the afternoon. It began with Adnan Januzaj’s high-calibre pass sending Jermain Defoe accelerating towards goal. Defoe though was forced to pull wide to the right before crossing for van Aanholt. Although Kabasele partially blocked his initial attempt on goal, the left back simply proceeded to follow up with a turn and left-foot shot which glanced in off the inside of a post.
Suddenly Sunderland looked a different team. Now resolute in defence they began pouring forward and taking turns in fully stretching their former team-mates Younès Kaboul and friends in Mazzarri’s back three.
If Ighalo had provoked first half panic, Anichebe was now firmly centre-stage and was arguably unlucky to curl a shot marginally wide with Gomes beaten after being adroitly cued up by Defoe.
Not that Moyes could relax. Sure enough he endured a horrible moment when the unmarked Troy Deeney - stuck on 99 goals for Watford - headed Amrabat’s cross narrowly wide.
With Watford waking up again Pickford subsequently saved smartly from Ighalo and Daryl Janmaat. Small wonder Koné and Djilobodji were so swift to embrace him at the final whistle.
Guardian