Two subtle, yet ruthlessly incisive, swipes of Jordi Gómez’s left boot were sufficient to offer Sunderland renewed hope of escaping relegation. Combined with a slightly contentious red card for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and another catalytic midfield performance from Lee Cattermole, Gómez’s superbly taken penalties re-acquainted Wearsiders with something called optimism.
Sunderland remain third bottom but they are one point behind Leicester and Hull and two in arrears of Newcastle and Aston Villa. Tricky, potentially hazard laden trips to Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea lie ahead but much may hinge on the remaining home game against Leicester.
Dick Advocaat was asked if he had “enough in his dressing room” to stay up. The Dutchman smiled broadly. “Yes, definitely,” he said. “I’m there – and 18 players.”
His cause here was helped by the reality that, until Ward-Prowse’s second-half dismissal, Southampton had done a passable impression of a team day-dreaming about impending summer holidays. Although the red card shocked them into life, their hopes of European qualification received a severe dent.
As befits two old friends and compatriots Ronald Koeman and Advocaat were all jokes and embraces but the latter had no compunction about quite possibly denying his Southampton counterpart a few continental excursions. “I was really happy when the final whistle went,” the former Holland manager said.
Just before that whistle he must have had his heart in his mouth as Costel Pantilimon made a brilliant reflex save to deny Graziano Pellè what had seemed a certain goal, but Advocaat remained adamant Sunderland merited victory. “It was a real team performance to get a result we deserved. We worked so hard,” he said. “Southampton have a very good side and we had to fight for the points. My team are really knackered now.”
Danny Graham, whose indomitable industry proved emblematic of the wider collective effort, swiftly set the upbeat tone by winning an early penalty. When he and José Fonte challenged for a dropping ball, the Southampton defender raised his boot, catching Graham and sending him crashing to the floor. Gómez stepped forward to take the penalty, evading Kelvin Davis’s reach with a thoroughly assured, kick, directed low into the bottom corner.
Advocaat’s celebrations proved short-lived. He had barely settled back into his seat before a ghastly defensive communications failure gifted an equaliser.
It began with Southampton lobbing a speculative ball into the box. Pantilimon came out to make a routine collection but, just in front of him, Sebastian Coates appeared hellbent on trying to head clear.
Goalkeeper and defender duly collided and with John O’Shea further complicating matters by crashing into Coates, the three Sunderland players were left to slowly untangle their limbs from the undignified heap. Sadio Mané pounced, gleefully turning the ball into an unguarded net.
The start of the second half brought a second penalty for Gómez, his left foot again proving far too accurate for Davis, who dived the wrong way. A move that had been initiated by the impressive, and increasingly influential, Cattermole scything into a challenge and surging upfield, concluded with Graham holding the ball up in the manner of a top class centre-forward before playing in Jermain Defoe. The former England striker’s first touch was not exactly stellar but it did not prevent Ward-Prowse charging in and toppling Defoe.
Bereft of malice, the challenge probably merited a yellow card but Mike Jones produced a red, Southampton were down to 10 men and things finally looked to be going Advocaat’s way.
It served to galvanise Southampton, who beat Sunderland 8-0 in October, prefacing some of their most dangerous passages of play. Advocaat’s attempt to change the narrative involved Adam Johnson coming off the bench in the 81st minute to make his first appearance since being charged with three offences of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl and one of grooming.
Greeted warmly, the erstwhile England winger made little impact but joined team-mates in congratulating Pantilimon for that wonderful 11th-hour blocking of Pellè’s vicious 10-yard shot that may yet keep Sunderland out of the Championship.
Other visiting managers might have deflected criticism by blaming defeat on the referee but Koeman is better than that. “It’s so easy to talk about refereeing decisions but we made mistakes, we gave them the possibilities to create those situations,” he said. “That was the reason we lost, not the referee. Normally our level is much higher.
“We didn’t reach our level. We were very poor at times and I’m frustrated by that. It’s strange that with a player less on the pitch we showed our quality. Our reaction with one player less made us the better team, the dominating team. It’s hard to understand.
“Sunderland gave everything –Advocaat is an experienced man and a good coach and I think he has given them a little bit extra – but I expect much more from my team.”
