April 2008 Archives

DARYL MURPHY'S injury-time strike was the goal that guaranteed Premier League football on Wearside next season - but Boro's survival scramble will go to the wire.

Murphy's late winner gave the Black Cats a deserved 3-2 win over the Boro at the Stadium of Light - and their first win over the Teessiders on home soil since 2000.

Boro were left kicking themselves at the final whistle as they let Sunderland score another last-gasp goal that cost them dearly.

In September it was Liam Miller who netted an 89th minute equaliser to force a 2-2 draw at the Riverside; yesterday Murphy's strike was even more expensive, sending the visitors back down the A19 empty-handed.

And while Sunderland can allow themselves a sigh of relief after this win, coupled with Birmingham's draw against Liverpool, saw them make mathematically certain of safety, Boro cannot relax just yet.

Roy Keane has defended his tactics and team selection for last weekend's Tyne-Wear derby game - insisting that those decisions were not to blame for the defeat.

Keane's decision to play Kenwyne Jones as a lone targetman with Andy Reid playing just behind him was criticised by fans who felt that was too defensive and that he should have played Michael Chopra alongside Jones up front instead.

Liam Miller's recall after two months without first-team action also caused a stir, with local boy Grant Leadbitter left on the bench.

But Keane was happy with his choice of personnel and tactics - even though he admitted the performance left a lot to be desired.

Confirmation of the news Sunderland fans have been dreading all week: Phil Bardsley out for the rest of the season, Jonny Evans struggling.

Bardsley needs an operation on his knee ligament injury which means he won't play in Sunderland's final three games of the season, although Roy Keane says he'll be fine for the start of pre-season.

As for hamstring injury victim Evans, he is officially 50-50 for tomorrow's Wear-Tees derby but it seems highly unlikely that he'll be risked.

There's still no word on the extent of the injuries to defenders Jonny Evans and Phil Bardsley.

To lose Evans to a hamstring problem and Bardsley to a knee ligament injury on the eve of the derby was a huge blow for Roy Keane and there's no doubt that their absence played a part in the defeat at St James's Park.

And, while there has been no official confirmation, you have to expect that both will be out for the rest of the season.

Bardsley's injury is thought to be a bad one and, if that turns out to be true, he will face a race against time to be fit for the start of pre-season training in July, never mind the final three games of this season.

As for Evans, hamstring injuries are usually regarded as 4-6 week affairs, which would count him out of the run-in, too.

MURPHY'S Law says that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

And Sunderland fell victim to it with a vengeance at the weekend - not that it will ease the pain of derby defeat on Wearside.

Right from the moment that key defenders Jonny Evans and Phil Bardsley picked up training-ground injuries on Friday, Roy Keane's plans were thrown into disarray.

All he could do was call upon the ring-rusty duo of Paul McShane and Danny Higginbotham - who had not played a first-team game for 12 weeks and seven weeks respectively - to fill in, and Sunderland paid the price.

Roy Keane can't get enough of the big derby atmosphere.

Not content with a week's non-stop hype and hyperbole surrounding Sunday's vital Tyne-Wear clash, he took his coaching staff up to Parkhead in midweek to watch the Old Firm clash between his old club Celtic and Rangers.

Talk about a busman's holiday!

Keane was delighted to see the Bhoys win on Wednesday but now it's down to the serious business of settling the small matter of local pride in the North-East - will there be tears on Tyneside or wails on Wearside?

Premiership safety - so near and yet still so far away for Sunderland, but three wins in a row has given them a 10-point cushion above the relegation zone.

But Roy Keane was telling anyone who would listen last week that they weren't there yet . . . it's just a shame that his players cocked a deaf 'un!

Too many thought they were home and hosed already and made the mistake of treating Man City 's visit to Wearside as a survival celebration.

They were punished as a late flurry from City ended Sunderland's winning streak in front of a near full-house at the Stadium of Light.

Roy Keane won't yet admit it, but Sunderland have surely won their fight for Premier League survival now.

Goals from Danny Collins, sub Michael Chopra and Kenwyne Jones were enough to earn Sunderland a third Premier League win on the spin - and all-but secure survival.

But while Sunderland's travelling Red & White Army left Craven Cottage in jubilant mood, floundering Fulham were left staring into the abyss.

Of course there is still a way to go before strong probabilities become mathematical certainties but it now seems just a matter of time until Sunderland's safety is confirmed.

The Black Cats' win over Fulham, coupled with Bolton's 4-0 hammering at Aston Villa, means the points gap between Sunderland and the relegation zone is now in double figures.