And that’s your lot on a dramatic day on Wearside. Sunderland showed great character to give their long-suffering fans a little happiness; Charlton proved they’ll be in the promotion mix too, providing there’s a few quid spent to reinforce a threadbare squad. Louise Taylor was at the Stadium of Light. Her report will be up soon. See you later for Sheffield United versus Swansea City!
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The view of Jack Ross. “I don’t think there’s a better way to win a football match. Hopefully it’s a sea-change for us. But it was a really tough game. We were hanging in a little bit during the early exchanges, but I thought we were stronger as the game went on. We deserved something from it. It was a really competitive game, but winning in that manner is obviously something we’ll take. Their shape caught us by surprise, so I was keen to get two strikers on the pitch. Our players’ desire to get the winner was evident. It’s a small step forward, and we’ve a long way to go. The fans were incredibly positive for us during the game, even when we were a goal down. There’s a perception that it should be easy for us in this league, but that’s far from the case and today was a good example of how difficult it’s going to be, week in, week out. But it was an enjoyable afternoon for them, supporters will go home pleased, and hopefully we can develop a taste for that and do it more consistently.”
Goalscoring hero Lynden Gooch speaks! “The club’s gone through a rough time the past few years, and I’ve been here a long time, so it means a lot to everyone. The manager’s been really good with everyone, he’s been really upbeat and changed the mood of the place. You can see it with the fans. It’s a Premier League club, we need to get back, and he’s doing everything he can.”
What a magnificent effort by Sunderland! They were not far short of abject in the first half, but Jack Ross gave the side a good old shoogle at half time, and they came out much better for it in the second. A dramatic late winner may well have cleared a few pipes after a couple of difficult seasons on Wearside. This is how momentum shifts! Pity poor Charlton, though, who go away with nothing after an excellent showing in the first half, but were a little too passive in the second.
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FULL TIME: Sunderland 2-1 Charlton Athletic
Sunderland have won on the opening day for the first time since 2009! This is how it began in 1987-88.
GOAL! Sunderland 2-1 Charlton Athletic (Gooch 90+6)
Maguire pulls back the corner for Gooch on the edge of the area. he shapes to shoot ... and takes a fresh-air shot! No matter, because Oviedo picks up the ball on the left, and floats it diagonally into the area. Gooch hasn’t let his head drop, and uses it to guide a brilliant effort across Phillips and into the top left! The Stadium of Light explodes!
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90 min +5: Solly and Pratley form a yellow wall, and Charlton clear. But Sunderland come back at them. Oviedo has a whack from distance. It’s deflected, and out for another corner on the right. From which ...
90 min +4: Molyneux is instantly into the action, powering down the right and earning a corner. Late drama here?
90 min +3: Sinclair is down feeling his hamstring and wincing. He limps off. Luke Molyneux takes his place.
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90 min +2: Page earns a corner for Charlton down the left. Sarr gets to Marshall’s delivery, but can’t bother McLaughlin.
90 min: There will be six additional minutes. Some good news for Charlton: Pearce is up on his feet, trudging slowly around the perimeter towards the dugouts.
89 min: It doesn’t look as though Pearce can continue. He’s in some distress, holding his left knee. Off he goes on the stretcher. Naby Sarr will come on in his place.
87 min: Gooch is booked for a late lunge on Pearce. For a second, he was out of control, both feet off the ground, but he managed to get one boot back onto the turf before making contact with Pearce. It’s probably the difference between yellow and red.
86 min: Taylor tries to get something going for Charlton. A left-to-right crossfield pass is sent in the general direction of Lapslie, but there’s too much on it. Goal kick.
84 min: Honeyman crosses deep from the right. Oviedo, on the left, hits a low, diagonal, cross-cum-shot across the face of goal. Sinclair slides in, and must score from six yards ... but somehow pokes the ball wide left! Charlton really are holding on now.
83 min: Sinclair bothers Pearce into the concession of a corner on the right. Solly manages to clear after a couple of attempts. But Charlton can’t get out of their final third. They’re trapped. They’re holding on now.
81 min: Solly is booked for a tug on Sinclair as the Sunderland man wreaks havoc down the left.
80 min: Maguire makes room down the right and curls one into the box, looking for Mumba, who isn’t a million miles away from connecting with a spectacular diving header.
79 min: Charlton were first to most loose balls in the first half. They’ve been markedly less proactive in this second period, and Sunderland are benefiting accordingly.
77 min: Gooch cuts in from the right and is sent sliding across the turf on his face by Aribo. A free kick 25 yards out, a little to the right. Maguire larrups a shot towards the top right. Phillips turns it away spectacularly. Great football all round! Then the ball’s whipped back into the mixer. Maja gets a header on target, but there’s no pace on it to trouble Phillips.
75 min: A quick throw down the right releases Taylor into some space. He wins another corner off Oviedo. Bauer wins a header on the penalty spot, but his effort flies wide left.
73 min: Marshall wins a cheap corner down the right off a snoozing Oviedo. He takes it himself. And miskicks it, the ball bumbling apologetically to the near post. It’s hacked clear by Oviedo. In the area, Taylor stands, hands on hips, nonplussed.
71 min: Lapslie tries to release Pratley down the right, but there’s too much on the ball. Charlton haven’t done a great deal in attack since the restart.
69 min: Charlton can’t keep hold of the ball right now. Sunderland - driven forward by today’s 31,079 crowd - have a new energy. Can they find the goal that would give them their first opening-day win since 2009?
67 min: That’s got the Stadium of Light singing! The release of 65 minutes of frustration ... scrub that ... two years of frustration. Gooch clips one in from the right, forcing Phillips to punch clear in a panic. For the first time, Charlton are suddenly on the back foot.
GOAL! Sunderland 1-1 Charlton Athletic (Maja 65)
He’s been tested now! And what a glorious goal, out of nowhere! Matthews slips a ball down the inside-right for Maja, who is just inside the area, with his back to goal. He turns crisply, leaving Bauer, and whistles a low shot into the bottom right!
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64 min: Oviedo scuffs a shot from just inside the area. The ball deflects out for a corner, which is wasted. Phillips still hasn’t been seriously tested today.
63 min: Honeyman embarks on a power dribble across the face of the Charlton box, right to left, then into the area down the channel. It’s a fine run, but Marshall and Solly perform a fine pincer movement on him. Neither make a rash challenge, and Honeyman runs the ball out for a goal kick.
61 min: And now Sinclair returns, to a great surge of emotion from the crowd. They’re doing their best to get the home heroes going.
60 min: Solly is back, but Sinclair is still off the field, getting stitched up. In the meantime, Maguire drags a shot wide right from distance.
59 min: Charlton win a corner down the left, the result of some good work from Aribo and Taylor. From the set piece, the latter nearly gets the chance to shoot from the middle of a melee. He’s crowded out of it just in time.
58 min: Sunderland are so dozy at the back. Loovens, not for the first time today, leaves his keeper short with a header back. Taylor nearly nips in. McLaughlin does extremely well to make up the ground and clear.
57 min: Solly’s up and about, but leaves the pitch to get patched up.
56 min: Sinclair departs down the tunnel, blood squirting from his forehead. He’ll be OK to continue, by the looks of it; he just needs a plaster and a new shirt. Solly looks in worse shape, though: he’s flat out for a while, and though he’s now sitting up, he’s leaking a lot of blood from his head too, and looks a little dazed.
54 min: Aribo drops deep and nearly slips a clever one down the middle to release Ahearne-Grant. Not quite. Then Matthews goes up the other end, dancing his way down the inside-right channel and making his way into the box without much Charlton resistance. He dinks into the middle for Sinclair, who catches more of Solly than the ball with his head.
53 min: Marshall, tight on the right touchline, tries a cheeky whip into the bottom right from distance, with McLaughlin on walkabout. The keeper is wise to the grift, though, and gets over in time to save.
51 min: Solly curls one in from the right. Aribo loops a header towards the top left. Shades of the goal that won it for Derby at Reading last night. But McLaughlin backtracks and claims the ball on the line. Sunderland go down the other end, Gooch fizzing a cross through the six-yard box from the right. He can’t find Maja or Sinclair, but the home side have a little more presence in the final third now.
49 min: Sinclair is quickly into the action, latching onto a Honeyman pass down the right and purchasing a cheap free kick from a clumsy Bauer. A dangerous position. Loovens nearly gets to the set piece at the far post, but Pearce blooters clear. Sinclair has another run at Charlton down the right, but passes the ball out of play, and the danger is finally over.
47 min: A Charlton free kick is dealt with easily enough by the new back line of Loovens-Ozturk-Matthews, but the visitors are soon coming back at them. Pearce barges his way into the box down the left, but can’t find space to cross or shoot, eventually running the ball out for a goal kick.
And we’re off again! Charlton get the party restarted. Sunderland have made their second change, this time a tactical one: Luke O’Nien is replaced by Jerome Sinclair. And the hosts are going three at the back.
Half-time reading: In case you missed it, the Championship kicked off last night. Derby boss Frank Lampard enjoyed the kind of start Jack Ross is still dreaming of.
HALF TIME: Sunderland 0-1 Charlton Athletic
Jack Ross runs off down the tunnel. He’ll have a few words to say to his men during the break. They’ve been poor, albeit with signs of improvement towards the end of the half. Charlton deserve their lead. It’s going to be a very interesting second half!
45 min +2: What a chance for Sunderland to equalise! Maguire takes a speculative shot from distance. He shanks it, but the ball dribbles diagonally, right to left, for Maja, who is clear on goal! But Phillips is out quickly to narrow the angle, and Maja shoots straight at the keeper. What a mood-changer that would have been!
45 min: Maguire earns a corner down the right. He takes it himself, and finds the head of Loovens, on the penalty spot. Loovens sends a header to the left of goal. Ozturk tries to bundle it in, but can’t quite replicate this goal:
43 min: Sunderland cause Charlton to panic for the first time today. Matthews whips a cross into the box from the right. The visitors can’t clear, and suddenly Oviedo is in a fair bit of space to the left of the box. A heavy first touch means he rushes his shot, which becomes a cross that Maja tries to turn into the net from ten yards. It screws wide left, but for the first time Charlton looked shaky at the back.
42 min: Oviedo takes a touch into some space down the left, and pearls a speculative shot straight at Phillips. Pearce is then booked for coming through the back of Maja in the alehouse style.
40 min: Gooch has another look from the left, and cuts inside, shoulders hunched, looking for a split second like Ted McMinn. He crosses deep, and nearly finds Honeyman romping in at the far post. But there’s a little too much on the cross. Goal kick. Gooch has been Sunderland’s most promising attacker so far.
39 min: Marshall floats a poor free kick towards a bunch of yellow shirts racing into the area from the right. McLaughlin, Sunderland’s best player so far by some distance, comes off his line to claim confidently.
38 min: Page makes good for the Sunderland box, cutting in from the left, and he’s bundled over by Mumba. Now it’s Charlton’s turn to load the box.
36 min: And then another reminder of Sunderland’s defensive vulnerability. The busy Ahearne-Grant twists and turns down the left and lays off to Lapslie, who dinks into the centre for Taylor. The striker tries an audacious spin and back-heel into the bottom right, a skill that has a difficulty tariff of 6.0, but he doesn’t connect and he’s offside anyway.
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34 min: Maguire’s delivery is good this time: he curls it down the corridor of uncertainty, and Loovens nearly gets his head to it, six yards out. Not quite, and the ball goes out of play, the danger over. But much better from Sunderland.
33 min: Gooch turns Page out on the right and nearly has his shorts pulled down in the rugby style. The full-back will be booked for that, and here’s another chance for the hosts to load the box.
31 min: A free kick for Sunderland and a chance to load the box. Maguire slips a pass down the right for Gooch, but it’s easily read and intercepted by Page. That didn’t go down particularly well with the home support, whose levels of early-season optimism are not quite as high as they were 32 minutes ago.
30 min: Page romps down the left and looks for Ahearne-Grant in the middle. Ozturk gets in the road, but only tees it up for Lapslie, running down the inside-left. Lapslie shoots straight at McLaughlin, who must be wondering what’s going on in front of him.
29 min: Sky have just shown a replay of Taylor’s penalty. The striker celebrated its conversion by holding up the shirt of team-mate Jake Forster Caskey, who is out for the season after suffering ligament damage in training on Thursday. A lovely touch.
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27 min: The corner finds Aribo, on the edge of the six-yard box. He heads down, and inches wide of the bottom-right corner. McLaughlin probably had it covered, but his defenders aren’t doing the keeper any favours so far. Aribo won that header with ridiculous ease.
26 min: And that’s not going to be helped any by the substitution of Love, who continues to have problems with his ankle. Oviedo takes his place before Charlton can take their corner.
25 min: Pratley is given all the time in the world to line up a shot from 25 yards. He sends a rising heatseeker towards the top right. McLaughlin tips it over the bar spectacularly. Sunderland are a shambles at the back.
23 min: Now it’s Love’s turn to get a dab from the magic sponge, having taken a knock to his ankle. He’s up and about soon enough.
21 min: After a good soak with the magic sponge, Page is back in the thick of it. Sunderland push Charlton back for the first time in the game, the crowd favourite Gooch sending a couple of decent crosses in from the right. Charlton deal with them easily enough, but that’s promising for the home side.
19 min: Page crashes into a couple of challenges down the left. He nearly breaks past Gooch and Love, but not quite. Then he goes over, having taken an accidental kick to the ankle. Worrying signs for Charlton, who have only named five subs today amid an injury crisis.
17 min: A chance for Sunderland to check Charlton’s momentum, as Gooch draws a foul from Page just to the right of the Athletic area. Maguire pulls a low free kick across for Loovens, who can’t get a shot away from the edge of the box.
16 min: Pratley nearly prises Sunderland open with a cheeky chip down the centre. Then Ahearne-Grant slips a pass down the inside-left for Taylor, who is sent clear but a yard offside. Sunderland are all over the place.
14 min: Ahearne-Grant is looking extremely lively. He makes for the byline down the left, checks back, and dinks one to the far post. Marshall isn’t all that far away from meeting the cross with his head. Charlton are looking as confident as Sunderland are edgy.
13 min: That early goal for Charlton has dampened the party atmosphere somewhat. The crowd are already getting agitated. As are the team. Honeyman, Maguire and Loovens have all made egregious errors already. Love gestures for his team-mates to calm it down. There’s still nine months and 77 minutes to go.
11 min: Loovens nearly turns a bad start for Sunderland into a nightmare, leaving a backpass short. McLaughlin does very well to slide in and clear, with Taylor sensing another goal.
GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Charlton Athletic (Taylor pen 10)
Taylor lashes the ball high into the top-right corner. A wonderful penalty, and McLaughlin had no chance.
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Penalty for Charlton!
8 min: Matthews nearly opens Charlton up down the inside left. But his ball inside is to nobody, and Charlton break upfield. Ahearne-Grant powers down the middle, drifts off to the right, and is clumsily tripped by Maguire as he enters the box. The rashest of tackles. Maguire’s booked, and doesn’t bother complaining.
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7 min: Ahearne-Grant aims for the top right, but his effort is deflected over the bar for a corner. The corner leads to nothing.
6 min: Lapslie dribbles inside from the Charlton right with great purpose. He’s crudely clattered to the ground by Ozturk, and this is another dangerous free kick, this time just to the right of the D.
5 min: Some good work by Gooch down the left leads to a corner. Maguire sends the set piece into the mixer, forcing Phillips to punch clear. It’s a good thing he does, because O’Nien was lurking at the far post.
3 min: Nope. Taylor tries to send a curler over the wall and into the top left, but it’s no good. Miles over the bar. The home fans enjoyed that, given the player snubbed their club this summer.
2 min: Charlton are putting their shoulders into this. They’re faster to everything right now. Marshall dribbles hard down the middle, and is barged over by Honeyman, who is already testing the referee’s patience. It’s a free kick, 25 yards out in a central position. Could this be a dream start for Charlton?
And we’re off! Another bellow of noise as Sunderland get the ball rolling. They soon give up possession, and there’s some neat footwork in the centre circle by Ahearne-Grant. He’s upended by Honeyman, who gets an early lecture from the ref. We move on.
The teams are out! Sunderland sport their famous red and white stripes, so Charlton are forced into third-choice yellow. A huge roar as the players emerge from the tunnel; the Stadium of Light is gripped by fevered anticipation. A party atmosphere. The opening game of the 2018-19 League One season will be off in a minute!
And now Charlton caretaker boss Lee Bowyer has his say on Sky. “The only way we can do better this season is promotion. So that’s what we’re aiming for. That’s what we’ve been working towards through pre-season. We’re short of numbers. We’ve been unlucky the last three weeks regarding injuries. But it’s a chance for some young lads. We’ve got young George Lapslie starting today for the first time, so one door closes, another opens. It’s a tough league, and there’s quite a few sides who will be expecting to do well. So I wish Sunderland all the best ... but there will be competition!”
New Sunderland boss Jack Ross, who won the Scottish Championship with St Mirren last year, speaks to Sky. “I’ve a lot of excitement. Everyone looks forward to the first game. Given what’s gone on at this club over the last two or three months, that’s heightened the sense of anticipation. It’s obviously a very different team to the one that finished last season, we’ve turned over a lot of players and still have several injured. And some academy players brings a freshness to it. That brings a degree of optimism to supporters, but it’s up to us to match that on the pitch with results. We have to produce a team that reflects how supporters feel about this club from the stands, because their loyalty and commitment to this club is not in question.”
This match will bring back memories of the famous 1998 Football League First Division play-off final between the clubs, Clive Mendonca, Michael Grey, all that. The man who missed the decisive penalty in that Wembley marathon is over it now, and he spoke to our top therapist Barry Glendenning a few years ago. It’s a charming interview and well worth another read.
It’s a new-look Sunderland, with Luke O’Nein, Alim Ozturk, Glenn Loovens, Jon McLaughlin and Chris Maguire all making their debut. Though there’s even bigger news: a place in the midfield for 16-year-old Bali Mumba, who has seriously impressed the new boss Jack Ross in pre-season. It’ll be Mumba’s second appearance for the club: he made his first-team debut in the final game of last season against Wolverhampton Wanderers, coming on as a late sub.
Former Wimbledon striker Lyle Taylor makes his debut for Charlton Athletic, having turned down the chance of a move to the Stadium of Light in the summer. Darren Pratley also debuts. Lee Bowyer has named only five subs, a shot across the bow of the board whichever way you look at it.
The teams
Sunderland: McLaughlin, Love, Loovens, Ozturk, Matthews, O’Nien, Mumba, Honeyman, Gooch, Maguire, Maja.
Subs: Oviedo, Baldwin, Sinclair, Ruiter, Embleton, Hume, Molyneux.
Charlton Athletic: Phillips, Marshall, Bauer, Page, Solly, Pratley, Pearce, Ahearne-Grant, Aribo, Taylor, Lapslie.
Subs: Ajose, Sarr, Maynard-Brewer, Maloney, Hackett-Fairchild.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).
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Welcome back!
Sunderland’s fall has been vertiginous. They were playing Premier League football less than 15 months ago; now the six-time champions of England are about to begin only their second-ever season in the third tier.
But this need not become a disheartening experience. Because their 1987-88 season was F.U.N.! Sunderland bounced back at the first attempt under Denis Smith, topping the old Third Division in a high-scoring frenzy, Marco Gabbiadini and Eric Gates sharing 40 goals between them, defender John MacPhail chipping in with a penalty-assisted 16.
The Black Cats are favourites to repeat the trick by winning this season’s League One. Back in 87-88, they started fast with a 1-0 win at Brentford; this time round they’re facing opponents from the capital again, in the shape of Charlton Athletic. Lee Bowyer took the Addicks into the play-offs last season, a decent if ultimately unsatisfying finish. But their momentum is upwards, and they’re one of the group of big clubs expected to seriously challenge Sunderland for one of those promotion slots: see also Barnsley, Portsmouth and Luton Town.
Sunderland ended up with 93 points in 87-88. Another haul like that would arrest their slide all right. However more recent history is against them starting in the 1987 style today. They’ve not won an opening-day fixture since 2009, when they beat Bolton Wanderers away. They’ve also lost their last three league games against Charlton. But it’s a new dawn, a new day, a new season. These two famous old clubs are very much looking to the future, and they’ll be desperately hoping it starts positively today. As Denis, Marco, Eric and John once proved, an opening win can shape a superb season. It’s on!
Kick off: 12.30pm BST.
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