Satisfactory is never the most thrilling assessment to take away from a match but Simon Grayson and Gary Rowett could depart the Stadium of Light feeling a point had been gained and, for Grayson in particular, a point had also been made.
Last Saturday Grayson’s new Sunderland had been beaten 5-0 at home by Celtic and were then lambasted by one of their own, Darron Gibson, in a drunken rant at a Durham hotel.
Against an at times composed Derby marshalled by Tom Huddlestone, Sunderland set about disproving Gibson’s theory with a spirt and energy that brought a buzz to the weathered stadium. There was a contrast with David Moyes’s beginning and a contrast with his end.
After a perky first 10 minutes in which George Honeyman, Aiden McGeady and Lewis Grabban could each have given Sunderland the lead in the same attack, Grayson watched as Bradley Johnson, a player he knows from Leeds, fired home for Derby.
“The most important thing is we didn’t crumble,” Grayson said. “Previously this team might have gone under. We got on the front foot and asked questions of Derby.”
It was 11 minutes in and it was to be the most important moment of the match. Derby got their goal and Sunderland found a response. “People have questioned the players’ desire this week but what you saw was 11 players who chased every ball,” Grayson added. “Testament to that was the round of applause from the supporters.”
He said there is much work to be done before Sunderland are seen as some “happy-go-lucky club” and that this will be a “slow process” but there was a difference in mood at the Stadium of Light. Even Gibson, named on the bench, might have been impressed at the level of physical commitment shown by players such as the constant Lee Cattermole.
Sunderland retain those unwanted statistics – no league win in the month of August since 2010, no home win in 2017 – but Grayson has something to build on. Ellis Short, the club’s American owner, was present and he saw Grayson’s first big decision – to narrow and shorten the pitch.
“We felt they’d be quite direct,” Rowett said. “We saw they’d made the pitch more compact. I think 1-1 probably flattered us at half-time but in the second half we were much better and I think we looked fitter than Sunderland.”
The focus on Sunderland’s disarray – this week and last season – meant Derby’s year of living carelessly was overshadowed. Twelve months ago they had promotion hopes and Nigel Pearson in charge. That soon gave way to Steve McClaren’s return, then Rowett’s arrival in March and Derby ended up 13 points off the play-offs.
Since then they have lost Will Hughes but brought back Huddlestone to his first club. It was his ability to show some composure in midfield and spread a pass to the darting Johnny Russell that created the Derby goal.
Russell nipped past Brendan Galloway, placed a cross through Lamine Koné’s legs and found Johnson six yards out. He made no mistake.
Having won only two of the last 23 matches under Moyes, Sunderland fans could not expect their team to fight back but they revealed some attitude. Cattermiole had a 20th minute half-volley tipped over by Scott Carson and Grabban then hit a free shot over.
There was a measure of good fortune about the equaliser. Four minutes before half-time, Jacob Butterfield stumbled awkwardly on the edge of the area and in falling, the ball hit his forearm. Sunderland claimed and Oliver Langford pointed to the spot. Grabban’s kick was cool and beat Carson.
That meant Grayson was a more reassured figure at the interval than he might have been. He then saw James Vaughan drag a shot inches wide four minutes into the second half and not long after Cattermole robbed Huddlestone in midfield, broke forward and slid a pass to Grabban. From 16 yards, he belted the ball off a post.
Derby had attacks of their own, Cattermole cleared a Richard Keogh header off the line and Sunderland’s overall feeling about the match would have been different had Chris Martin not fallen over on 73 minutes when free in the home area following a sharp run and pass from substitute Matej Vydra. Martin’s slip meant no one lost and that mattered.
McKay has Forest off to a flyer
Barrie McKay’s first goal for Nottingham Forest was enough to secure a 1-0 win for Mark Warburton’s side at the City Ground but the Millwall manager, Neil Harris, will be wondering quite how.
The summer signing from Rangers scored with a spectacular long-range shot four minutes before half-time but it was far from the game’s only moment. Millwall had a host of chances but this was one of those matches where nothing went right for them.
This was always going to be an awkward fixture for Forest – buoyed by the optimism stirred up by new owners and a new manager following Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis’ takeover – against a Millwall side who had battled their way out of League One. Fred Onyedinma summed up the game when he headed wide for Millwall in injury time.
