Last weekend, we witnessed Sunderland fall and crumble at the hands of Southampton down at the south coast. There are not many suitable words capable of summing up Sunderland’s abysmal display, unfortunately I can only make a frank comparison; it was like watching a hung-over Sunday league team compete against a World XI. The performance of Gus Poyet’s men was so diabolical that it has made this game so very easy to dissect. I understand I’m not making Sunderland fans’ suffering any easier to bear, but I would like to voice what many a supporter is thinking, “How did we lose 8-0?”.
SFC 8-0 SAFC: What Went Wrong for Sunderland
I, along with the 2,000 Sunderland fans in the sold out away end, endured our team being dismantled. When the players emerged from the tunnel to warm-up, it became apparent that they looked lethargic and disengaged; players were missing shots ten yards from goal and looked lazy. This game was doomed from the start.
Sunderland broke the deadlock after just eleven minutes. Frustratingly, Argentine centre back, Santiago Vergini scored a wonder goal, but in the wrong net, putting the hosts Southampton a goal to the good. It was a heads-in-hands moment for the players and fans alike; what was Vergini thinking? Absolutely horrendous, must go down as one of the best/worst own goals ever scored.
Vergini’s own goal shaped the rest of the afternoon for Sunderland, having been tough to break down for the majority of the season, conceding a mere seven goals in seven games, the Mackems doubled their goals against tally to 15. The Wearsiders didn’t learn from their ever so costly mistakes, the defence failed to tighten up, which consequently led to two more preventable goals. Southampton went into the break 3-0 up.
It was expected by the Sunderland fans that their team would come out in the second half transformed. Sadly, this was never the case. If Poyet’s side were to have any chance of pulling off an impressive comeback, changes would need to be made imminently. Disappointingly, these changes were delayed by the manager; players were kept on who’d been lamentable for the entirety of the game. After the 63rd minute, the flood gates opened, as Sunderland conceded five in the space of 25 minutes. The team seemingly lacking any form of desire, players were losing the ball, but failed to show any commitment to win it back. The players appeared to be unfit, and some were clearly recovering from jetlag having had been away on International break.
The defence and midfield were lacklustre, constantly being slow on the ball, hence being caught in possession. Goalkeeper, Vito Mannone, had a performance to forget. The Italian, voted Sunderland’s Player of the Year last season, had a torrid time, conceding eight goals from just eleven shots on target from Southampton.
Gus Poyet came out after the game and apologised for his team’s ghastly display, and rightfully so. Nevertheless, the travelling supporters did their team proud and were tremendous throughout, even though they faced a gruelling 650-mile round trip. In my opinion, every single one of those fans should be refunded as, to be brutally honest, it was an absolute waste of time, watching players who couldn’t make it more evident that they didn’t care.
Despite the negativity in this article, I would like to finish on a positive note. Although only eight games in, Southampton are flying high in the Premier League sitting in 3rd, which many of our critics seem to be forgetting. Yes, I know, 8-0, there are no excuses, but was this the Sunderland we saw outclass Stoke two weeks ago? I don’t think so.
The game went severely wrong. Fortunately for the supporters, this wasn’t the Sunderland the fans know and cherish. I expect there to be some different names on the team sheet next week, hopefully players who are resilient and strong-willed and play with some degree of passion. Both Sunderland fans and players will be looking to restore some pride next week. They really do have some making up to do and need to repair the damage that has been done.
This is going to be a long week.
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