ALS: SAFC Fanzine

ALS: SAFC Fanzine IN PRINT. ONLINE. IN STORE. FANZINE/AWAY TRAVEL/FAN SHOP: ALL @ ALSHQ OPPOSITE SOL. NO 1 INDEPENDENT FAN VENT SINCE 1989. NINE TIMES UK FANZINE OF THE YEAR

Following Sunderland AFC is easy. Being emotionally attached to them is a bloody nightmare. But then, we don’t need to tell you about that because you get it; you’re one of us. We know you’re one of us because you’re supposed to be doing something else now. Obviously, we don’t know what that something else is – we’re not psychic – but whether it’s working, shopping, cleaning, decorating or reinvig

orating that flailing relationship, the point is that you’re not doing it. You’re on here reading stuff about Sunderland, which means you’re all right by us. The world is littered with people like you and us, people whose day to day lives - the bits that happen in between watching the lads – are only made bearable by devoting as much of them as we can get away with talking about, thinking about, reading about and fantasising about a team that last won a major trophy in 1973. We’re all in it for the ride and not the destination, and we’re all on the same side, however tortuous that journey becomes. At the back end of the 1980s, football fanzines began to sweep the country and in 1989 we were presented with a new vehicle on which to enjoy some of this ride – A Love Supreme. ALS was a place we could all go to celebrate and commiserate being a Sunderland fan. Win, lose or draw, the pages of the fanzine became solace for many of us as we stumbled our way through our day to day lives, punctuated by the ups and downs of more match days than any of us care to remember. In the years since its inception, a stupidly ridiculous number of Sunderland fans have expressed their love for God’s own football team in their own way through its pages. Some of it was funny, some of it deadly serious, some of it critical, some of it complimentary, but all of it was heartfelt. Even the most biting, radical, critical stuff, written by fans at the depth of despair comes from the bottom of their heart, no matter how hard it is for many of us to swallow.

Now taking Leeds bus bookings…
23/01/2025

Now taking Leeds bus bookings…

❤️ALS PAGE PREVIEW: ONE IN EVERY CORNER 🤍We spoke to a member of  to discuss their newest campaign   which is helping sa...
23/01/2025

❤️ALS PAGE PREVIEW: ONE IN EVERY CORNER 🤍

We spoke to a member of to discuss their newest campaign which is helping save lives on a regular basis.

have seven defibrillators around the ground and the one on the wall of the West Stand is in memory of the late Sunderland super fan Tom Lynn…

KILLER INSTINCTBY BEN THIRKELLAnother win, at Derby, means that Regis Le Bris’ side continues to push for those automati...
23/01/2025

KILLER INSTINCT
BY BEN THIRKELL

Another win, at Derby, means that Regis Le Bris’ side continues to push for those automatic places. But, with it being another close result, do the Black Cats need to be looking to make things easier for themselves?

It was a valuable three points on Tuesday and although it should have been more comfortable than it was, thanks to a bizarre decision from the referee to rule out Wilson Isidor’s goal, I came away slightly disappointed that we made hard work of it. Once we got going in the first half, we looked solid and comfortably on top in the game, yet in the second half we seemingly stopped playing at times. We found ourselves holding on to the game and if it was not for two great saves from Anthony Patterson, we could have been looking at a very different outcome. My issue at the minute is that we seem to be making hard work of games that you would expect the likes of Leeds and Sheffield United to breeze through. The Portsmouth game is a good example: score an early goal against a side that have struggled away from home, yet despite them being down to ten men in the second half we found ourselves sitting back in the latter stages.

At the moment it’s not a huge issue as we are winning, but I do look back at games like Blackburn and Millwall away, as well as Coventry at home, and this strategy seems a bit risky. I feel we need to start killing games off. For context we have not won by a two-goal margin since October 26 against Oxford and have done so just five times this whole season. In fact, we have only scored three or more on three occasions. To compare that to the other teams that are up there, Burnley have only scored three or more in the league three times this season, with last night’s hammering of Plymouth one of them, but the other two were their first two games of the season. Burnley have become kings of 1-0 wins and seem to have a bit of a problem up top (until last night it seems anyway), but in fairness they have the best defensive record in the country so I doubt it is seen as much of an issue at Turf Moor right now. Sheffield United have won by at least two goals in nine of their 18 wins, but then again they themselves have only scored three or more once which does show it’s not necessarily about battering teams every week. Leeds are of course the benchmark in the league, and have won by a two-goal margin 14 of their 17 wins and have scored three or more five times.

What I think this emphasises is that the gap between us, Sheffield United and Burnley is not that big, and I do feel if we just made things a bit more comfortable in games it will benefit us in the long run. It allows us to sub players off who have played a lot of minutes, utilise our fringe players a bit more, but most importantly it boosts our goal difference. We currently sit on +18, with Sheffield United on +22, Burnley on +27 and Leeds on a huge +34. We are not miles away but we could do with scoring more goals.

We are having a great season, no doubt about it, and I feel if we can just start killing games off, it could give us that extra boost when it comes to the run in. With Plymouth off the back of a battering yesterday, I feel this weekend is the perfect chance to go and get that goal difference up and keep the other three on their toes.

LOAN WATCH: MATTY YOUNGMatty Young has made quite the impression between the sticks for Salford City! We caught up with ...
23/01/2025

LOAN WATCH: MATTY YOUNG

Matty Young has made quite the impression between the sticks for Salford City! We caught up with local journalist Ed Hayton, who covers their games for SalfordNow, PA and more, to give his honest assessment about the teenager.

Young has kept seven clean sheets in nine League Two games, just how good has he been for Salford this season?
He has been tremendous for Salford this season, and it is no coincidence that since he broke into the starting side in December, the club has risen from mid-table into the League Two play-off positions. Aside from being a fantastic shot-stopper, he commands his box aggressively and looks assured, claiming crosses into the penalty area, which takes loads of pressure off the defence.

Is he your out-and-out number one now?
Yes, he’s definitely proven himself to be Karl Robinson’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Jamie Jones, and he could start every Salford game from now until the end of the season.

He conceded eight against Man City. Granted, none of them were his fault but has that seemed to knock his confidence or anything like that?
Although Salford are yet to shake the hangover from a heavy defeat against Man City and underperformed in their 2-0 loss against Fleetwood on Saturday, Young could not be blamed for either goal. There were no signs that his confidence had been dented, and I think he’ll continue to be one of the team’s standout performers.

What are his biggest strengths and weaknesses?
I have been impressed by his handling and ability to make routine saves without a fuss - he’s a sound catcher of the ball and rarely gives attackers a chance to score on the rebound. Having only conceded three goals across seven league matches, he’s yet to show any apparent signs of weakness. However, it’s difficult to assess how good his distribution is and whether he would be technically good enough with the ball at his feet to be successful at a high level.

He's only 18 and for young lads it can be hard to go out on loan to a different part of the country, particularly goalkeepers. How has he settled in?
Young seems to have settled into life at Salford really well, and it looks like he’s growing in confidence with every game. Being the club’s second-choice goalkeeper for a little while may have done him a world of good, as it gave him a bedding-in-period to adjust to before being thrown into the deep end.

Do you think he could compete with Anthony Patterson for Sunderland's number one jersey next season?
If Sunderland are still in the Championship next season and Matty enjoys a strong end to the campaign with Salford, I think he can offer some competition for Patterson’s number-one spot. He appears to be too good for League Two and there's no glaring reason why he wouldn’t cut it in the second tier. Even at his age!

🇮🇪 ALS PAGE PREVIEW: CONNOLLY’S CRAIC🔴⚪️In the new issue of ALS we interviewed David Connolly about his (belated) Sunder...
23/01/2025

🇮🇪 ALS PAGE PREVIEW: CONNOLLY’S CRAIC🔴⚪️

In the new issue of ALS we interviewed David Connolly about his (belated) Sunderland transfer, winning promotion under Keano and what it’s like to take a second penalty after missing the first one…

🛒 ALS 266 is available now!

Sunderland officially now has Music City status. Congratulations to .uk Now let’s make Sunderland a Premier League city ...
22/01/2025

Sunderland officially now has Music City status. Congratulations to .uk
Now let’s make Sunderland a Premier League city too 💪

A LOOK FORWARDBY MARK DUELLSunderland have now played their 28th league game out of 46 this season. We're still in a han...
22/01/2025

A LOOK FORWARD
BY MARK DUELL

Sunderland have now played their 28th league game out of 46 this season. We're still in a handy position, chasing down those automatic spots, and are harbouring ambitions of a return to the Premiership. I mean, wouldn't it be absolutely marvellous to get back there after so many seasons away? Slowly but surely, the Black Cats are clawing their way back and there is a genuine sense that something special is bubbling under the SoL's surface.

BIG GAMES AHEAD
Granted every game from now is a huge game, but there are certain ones that stick out the most for us. Two eye-catching fixtures are away from home. First of all, Leeds at Elland Road. If we can come away with a win there then we will have taken a stupendous four points from six out of a promotion rival, as we have done with Burnley. That's as good as anybody could ask. Leeds are very strong on home turf, though. But if we can get that bit of luck in front of goal, which sometimes does desert us, and French baguette-hands (aka Illan Meslier) has more clangers up his sleeves then anything is genuinely possible. We showed at Burnley we can scare the home side and get their home support rattled, so we need to do it in West Yorkshire.

The other huge away game, in my eyes, is at the Smogside Stadium. Pride is on the agenda. Boro are sometimes hot but sometimes they're colder than the leftover turkey at Christmas. Again, like Leeds, we need to be on it from the first whistle to the last. Get the Smoggies rattled on their own patch, and they can possibly panic. Granted they have some firepower, probably generated through Carrick's contacts here and there, but we have the resolve to deal with it. This is definitely not going to be a game for the faint-hearted, another where we need to stand up and be counted.

THE WINDOW
The month of January is one for Sunderland where we are in an awkward spot as regards recruitment, both in and out. Granted we have brought in Enzo Le Fée, and he was really good at Burnley before an even better display at Derby, despite the lack of game time at Roma. Imagine how bloody good he can be once he's really up to the speed of things in the English leagues compared to what he's seen in his native France and also in Italy. I would like to see a couple of more additions to be fair, but the main thing is that any newcomer has to be an upgrade on what we have ideally. We don't need to settle for sloppy seconds to be fair.

The focus on outgoings has to be keeping hold of both Jobe and Riggy. They are the most saleable assets on the books at present, you could easily get £25 million in these overinflated (and let's be fair, it is, so blame Bosman all you like etc.) markets for each of the two. Keep hold of them then it shows that we are not going to let our star players go on the cheap option. Okay, Jack Clarke went for a bit less than we wanted to, however we got a brilliant deal for the Loch Ness Drogba. Both of these guys though were running down contracts and would have left for nothing, zilch, nada if we had forced them to honour their contracts to the bitter end or in the last six months. I wonder if JC feels pushed away, thanks to Harte maybe, as he's clearly struggling with the PL at the moment.

THE FUTURE
We also need to start to look at the future of Sunderland AFC. The club has a training complex that is probably equipped as good as anyone for the top flight. In fact a lot of training grounds are massively improved from the days when teams used to train in public parkland. I mean, I remember watching a documentary on Sir Alex Ferguson and when he was still at Aberdeen. The Dons trained in what looked like a public park, no airs nor grace about it. Just goes to show how things and football have changed...

With average attendances at the moment in the Championship for the SoL being a shade over 40K, one can only but speculate how large this might grow in seasons to come depending on the on-pitch performance. There is apparent potential to expand, and with the football seen as part of the local fabric then I would not be surprised if KLD has been exploring these options. I might sound biased, but of all the newer stadia I've attended the SoL has that certain charm and charisma about it. The roar when it is whipped up to a frenzy is something else, something that other new stadia lack in abundance.

A message from SAFC fan Ian Partland ❤️:Unfortunately on the 9th of January my dad who was a life long Sunderland suppor...
22/01/2025

A message from SAFC fan Ian Partland ❤️:

Unfortunately on the 9th of January my dad who was a life long Sunderland supporter and has had a season ticket along side me since 1998 passed away with cancer. He was there in 73 and we were lucky enough to be at Wembley together in 2014, he went to the matches till his body wouldn’t let him, it would mean alot to our family if we could get a minute applause going on the 9th minute against Plymouth. Me and my son will be at the match and it would be much appreciated. Thank you 🙏🏻

RLB POST DCFCRegis Le Bris was just as confused as the rest of us when Wilson Isidor's goal was ruled out against Derby,...
22/01/2025

RLB POST DCFC

Regis Le Bris was just as confused as the rest of us when Wilson Isidor's goal was ruled out against Derby, but fortunately it didn't come back to bite us. The Head Coach has spoken of Sunderland's need to finish more of their chances but priased his side's defensive work.

WHY WAS IT DISALLOWED?
"I don't know, really. Maybe with VAR we could analyse the first ball and maybe an offside, but I don't think it was that decision. It was higher up the pitch and at the moment we don't know. It could have changed the outcome of the game, but at the end it was another tough game and the balance was different for the duration."

NEED TO KILL GAMES
"We started maybe a little slowly because they are direct, and then after 15 minutes we were good and created many chances in the first half. And if you don't score the second goal, you know that the opponent will believe until the end and it happened like that. It's good for our character because it shows that even in these circumstances we are ready to defend until the end. I'd also like to have a more relaxed end to the game because it's important to avoid last-minute equalisers, and we have had them before."

DUG IN DEEP
“It was a tough game. We had the opportunity to score a second goal, but we didn’t and with their back three and wide players, it was difficult to press and apply pressure on their first ball. It was difficult to find the right distance, so they managed many long balls in behind our defence to their target-man. Around the box, many things can happen, and it was difficult because they created many chaotic situations. The only way to stop it is to score, so in the end, it’s a good win because they are really efficient in their way of playing. It is not easy to solve the questions they ask of you."

MAYENDA PRAISE
“I think after the first 15 minutes, it [the system] worked well. We were good in that part of the game, and Eli scored in that position so it was positive from that perspective. After that, it was a bit more difficult and we lost a bit of control in the middle of the pitch. When we have two strikers, we have one less player in the middle. Halfway through the second half, we decided to make a change and play with three midfielders again, and I think it was better for us. At the end, it was a good choice.”

GAFFER GIVES STRIKER UPDATERegis Le Bris has explained that an exit for Nazariy Rusyn is on the cards this month, and sp...
22/01/2025

GAFFER GIVES STRIKER UPDATE

Regis Le Bris has explained that an exit for Nazariy Rusyn is on the cards this month, and spoke about what he would look for in an ideal striker. He also gave praise to Sunderland's young star Eliezer Mayenda after the forward scored the winner against Derby Couny last night.

RUSYN LEFT OUT OF SQUAD
“It is possible something could happen there (with Rusyn). We are having many conversations at the minute about his journey and the options we could find for him. As I have said before, it is very important to combine the two ideas – the purpose of the club and the team, and the purpose of the player. Sometimes, some of the players need minutes, and I think, for him, it could be a good opportunity to do something different.”

IDEAL STRIKER
“We have many young players, and for someone like Eli, they need experiences to grow. Obviously, in an ideal world, we would like to have (forward) players who are tall and fast, with a good technique and good finishing. In a perfect world, you want someone who can do everything."

MAYENDA IMPRESSIVE
“But we have to build these players. The players we have are talented, but they need time and experiences to grow. Eli is getting that, and he is doing well.”

GOOD WIN
“It was a big win, an important win for our journey. It was a tough game. We had the opportunity to score a second goal, but we didn’t and with their back three and wide players, it was difficult to press and apply pressure on their first ball."

TALKING TACTICS
"I think after the first 15 minutes, the formation worked well. We were good in that part of the game, and Eli scored in that position so it was positive from that perspective. After that, it was a bit more difficult and we lost a bit of control in the middle of the pitch. When we have two strikers, we have one less player in the middle. Halfway through the second half, we decided to make a change and play with three midfielders again, and I think it was better for us. At the end, it was a good choice.”

PATTO ON DERBY WINAnthony Patterson has reacted to last night's referee controversy and praised his team for a professio...
22/01/2025

PATTO ON DERBY WIN

Anthony Patterson has reacted to last night's referee controversy and praised his team for a professional win at Pride Park.

REF ERROR
“I'm not too sure what happened with the goal. We'd been celebrating for a while and it meant we had to switch back on quickly for the last ten minutes. I think it picked their fans up again and gave them a real boost going into the last ten minutes of the game. We had to see the game out and I think we did that well."

STAYED FOCUSED
"Even in the first half, I had to be alert in case I was called upon but nothing much came my way. The second half was just about maintaining focus and doing what I needed to do, keeping the ball out the back of the net."

SOLID DEFENDING
“We knew what was coming and I think in the first half we were able to control the game through our possession, which meant that they didn't really having anything to work off. In the second half I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit, which allowed them to build some momentum through some corners etc. That then got their fans up. They grew into the game but I do think on the whole we defended really well."

SAW THE GAME OUT
“I think we picked it back up after the few subs were made and I think we probably had a little bit more energy. We were able to get up to the ball, close them down and make it more difficult for them to launch the ball into the box. It was one of those games where they made it tough for us to get pressure on the ball because when we did, they played it forward and played from there. So we're just really happy to get the win.”

MAYENDA GOAL
“Eliezer from day one of this season, all the way through, has worked his socks off for the team. You can see it paying off for him now, he's been unbelievable. He's a key part of our team.”

SON OF SOBS: RAMSBY GARY DOBSONDerby have been dreadful recently, so surely we'd get something from this one? We've been...
22/01/2025

SON OF SOBS: RAMS
BY GARY DOBSON

Derby have been dreadful recently, so surely we'd get something from this one? We've been without a convincing win for a while. Lately we've been lacking decent passages of play. On top of that, our stats said our possession and expected goals have been dwindling. If you're into that kind of thing.

At the halfway point of the season we have nothing but time on our side. Mundle, Browne and Watson would all be returning soon. We still needed a striker, but lets not forget the up-and-coming Abdullahi and Ogunsuyi.

Apparently the home side have a few celebrity supporters including the people's gobsh*te, Dennis Skinner, and my favourite guitarist of all time, Graham Coxon. Just for the record. Derby are sponsored by FanHub - an app that 'rewards match-going fans for their loyalty'. As opposed to a Derby season ticket which rewards them with disappointment.

Enzo started on the left, although from what I've seen he much prefers to control things and play through the middle. But it's hard to shake things up when Captain Dan and Jobe have been so solid. Recently the Rams had seen both their centre backs injured. Nasty. But good for us.

5 mins in and we'd seen 5% of the ball. Full of vim and Weetabix, Derby were playing like men possessed, running 20 yards to get us off the ball and doubling up on us. We'd seen recently what teams with nothing to lose could do and they'd clearly come out with a point to prove, but we gave as good as we got. Eli introduced them to Sunderland press by muscling through the middle. But, as we've done regularly of late, we weren't holding onto the ball enough.

Derby's Adams left a boot on Cirkin after some promising forward movement. Cirkin and Enzo had looked decent last week but Dennis was struggling to keep up with him. The Frenchman's lightning quick overlaps were just too quick for him. Our press seemed to pick up when we won our first corner of the match. Please play it short. We did, but no takers on the front post and we saw a shot calmly collect by their keeper. 95% is still not a goal.

We got our heads down and turned the pressure up. Rigg gave the ball away but duly won it back. We broke, Jobe's ball to Wilson some how made its way to Eli. Mayenda found himself in a position through on goal, and delivered the goods. MEGS! 1-0 nil. Gerrup.

'...we're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen'.

The lads smelled blood in the water and immediately looked for a second. Dennis finally tuned in with Enzo and caught one of his overlaps. Cooking on gas for now. Jobe picked up a yella for a late challenge. That'd no doubt take sting out of the prodigal man-child for the next 60 mins.

Lethal Le Fee steamed a ball into the six yard box with the poise you'd expect from a player of his calibre. No questions being asked around his price tag here. Another couple of weeks with him in the team and hopefully we'd see some healthy interplay develop. Le Fee had the chance to step up to another free kick and only their man at the back in the special hat managed to push it round the post.

Derby's aggressive opening had now whimpered from a scream to a fart as their players ran out of ideas. Their fans barely had the wind in them to boo them off at half time. A sad state of affairs. What a shame.

Half time revealed two things. 1) Whoever was in change of the tunes at pride park had good taste - Immigrant Song by Led Zep! 2) Sheffield United were losing. So that's a nice thing to happen, isn't it?

2nd half started and Derby tried their 'run at them like nutters' approach. That worked for about 30 seconds until Eli terrified again them with a bit of Mayenda magic. We wobbled for a spell and then Wilson went on one of his wonderful runs. It took both the keeper and a midfielder to stop him. Well done Wilson, Chin up. You'll bounce back.

A triple change saw a complete reshuffle in their midfield and they started to look like a home side again. Patto pulled a wonderful save as Derby started to dig their heals in. 65 mins in - you know what I'm going to say... Subs.

Their trifactor of changes seemed to have done the trick. Momentum significantly shifted in their favour. Surely we couldn't just let them make a triple change and batter us without switching things up? Patto then decided to have a lie down. Which is obviously funny when it's our keeper doing it...

Four corners in a short space of time for the Rams and it wasn't looking good as we struggled to get a hold on things. With half an hour left we still hadn't made any changes and Derby were then forced to make two more changes due to an injury. RLB is known to hold off on the subs, leaving them as late as he can, but I'd like to know what his thinking is behind this approach when were are so frequently on the back foot. We needed to kill it. Again.

The gaffer must have heard me because Roberts and Ballard came on for Cirkin and Eli. With 20 mins to go Derby weren't letting us have a second on the ball. Another team we've faced recently who've been dangerous towards the end, just because they have nothing to lose.

Cue the shenanigans.

An excellent ball through put Enzo through, and the ball fell to Izzy who battered in to make it 0-2. However, despite no sign of an offside or any infringement, Wilson's goal was ruled out about 30 seconds after he scored it. Mental. No flags raised. No-one rolling around on the floor. Stupid. At this point I decided to go for an angry trip to the loo.

Hjelde on for Enzo and Samed for Rigg. Gutsy Derby couldn't do enough. After seven minutes of added time we ended up with the three points. Phew. We love you Sunderland, we do.

Wilson went over to discuss with the officials why his goal was disallowed. The ref seemed to indicate the ball over the top was offside, despite the linesman failing use his special flag and the ref himself being nowhere near. Basically, he buckled. A tragic decision. Not that you needed any redemption, Izzy. Eli had a good dance with the home crowd and Wilson celebrated too. There's that daft smile again.

When things clicked, we looked lethal. We just didn't do it enough. If we get promoted would we cut it in the Prem? Yes, we'd probably beat one of the struggling sides from Manchester. But could we cut it against giants like Nottingham Forest or Bournemouth?

Well done lads,
Keep the faith.
GPD

ALS 266 is available to buy online now and will be officially launched on Saturday when we play Plymouth
22/01/2025

ALS 266 is available to buy online now and will be officially launched on Saturday when we play Plymouth

A Love Supreme online store. Your one stop shop for away coaches, t-shirts and other Sunderland related merchandise. 01915654422 - [email protected]

SOBS V RAMSBY SOBSWith the games coming like Adama Traore (thick and fast) the Lads were down the A38, now know as US hi...
22/01/2025

SOBS V RAMS
BY SOBS

With the games coming like Adama Traore (thick and fast) the Lads were down the A38, now know as US highway 38, to Pride Park to grind out a win that was very much deserved but would have been more comfortable but for an absolutely baffling decision to disallow Issy's second half strike. A dreadful piece of refereeing, but a win's a win and three points are three points that put us, albeit perhaps only temporarily, in third place.

Omens were good, in that the Rams had lost their last five games, even if one was on penalties to Orient in the FA cup, and we'd won 4-1 on our last visit. If posh buses are an omen, we were laughing, as our former team coach had a full-on kitchen at the back... and the seats smelled of leather. Mind, the clock said 04:59 at 13.49... some things never change on football coaches.

As we stopped off in Ripley to thank the stars that Mepham was fit, we wondered why the Spoons wasn't called "The Talented Mister" before backing Issy to score. He was, as expected, in there...

Patterson
Hume O'Nien Mepham Cirkin
Neil (c) Bellingham
Rigg Le Fee
Mayenda Isidor. and a bench of Moore, Roberts, Hjelde, Jones, Ogunsuyi, Aleksic, Aouchiche, Ballard, and Samed.

A positive line-up with the potential for two up top or Mayenda out wide, and in the stripes we attacked the end to the left of our corner, with the home side kicking off as, for some reason, we gave a chorus of Oh Vito Mannone. Perhaps it was a dig at their embarrassing drummer, who'd presumably been given a free ticket to face away from the pitch. Note to any football team wanting to be taken seriously: DO NOT employ a drummer. It's pathetic.

After eight or so Enzo was away down the left and cut it back to Cirkin, who hit it over, but at least it was the game's first effort. Shots were at a premium for the next fifteen, then Issy really connected only for his swerver to cannon off the keeper. What a goal that would have been, but "would haves" don't count for much, unfortunately. However, five minutes later, some great play down our inside right channel saw Bellingham's pass fall nicely for Mayenda to show his strength - so he did, and fired it through the keeper and in. Well deserved, and a cracking, cool finish.

After what has been a pretty frantic opening, that goal gave us the chance to breathe and start to tease the Rams a bit. Perhaps a bit early on the game for that sort of stuff, but if it makes their drummer even more embarrassed than he already was then that's good enough for me. To be honest, the stuff that Neil, Bellingham, and Le Fee were producing had us asking how on earth our latest Gallic import was deemed surplus to requirements in Italy. I mean, Rigg was having decent game but those three were something else.

When we won a free kick in the inside left channel about 25 out, we wondered if it was worth a penk - and Le Fee's effort drew a decent save. Start putting those away, Lads, and we're laughing. Their keeper was hitting the goal kicks long and pretty much making Patto look like David Beckham as both benches dived for cover at regular intervals. We conceded a corner, which we defended well with Issy picking up the loose ball just outside our box and stretching those long legs to leave opponents in his wake only for a desperate, but effective, block preventing his shot from getting through. A single added minute was added before the light show began and we went in deservedly ahead. A second would have been no more than we deserved.

Most of the half time chat was about how lucky we are to have Le Fee and how he'd settled into the side, in the "wrong" position so well.

As usual there were no changes for the second half and we started where we'd left off, for ten minutes, then the home side began to get some joy down our right. We needed a superb block by Mepham to save Patto from work, then young Anthony was forced into a couple of fine saves to give the home fans something to shout about. Pressure was something we could have done without, but we're nowt if not resolute at the back, and we kept our a flurry of corners. Luke drove out a couple of times, Hume and Cirkin both put in a couple of thunderous tackles, but their left side was getting a bit irritating.

With just under twenty to go, on came Roberts and Ballard for Cirkin and Mayenda, and a couple of minutes later we looked to have sealed it when Issy went through, picked up a Le Fee touch after Bellingham's long pass, and whacked it home off the underside of the bar to spark the usual mayhem in our end. A full minute later, after no intervention from the linesman, and having indicated a goal, the ref changed his mind and the phone went mad. Their keeper had even hoyed the ball to the centre spot for a restart.

No offside, no infringement, no handball, no push - need nowt, as they say on a Sunday morning in our part of the world. The ref seemed to indicate it was offside when Captain Dan spoke to him afterwards, despite him not noticing at the time. Even Clinton Morrison agreed it was a bad decision, and that bloke is mad, which means it was a goal. I really despise VAR, but it would have given us the clincher (and me a tidy few quid on a free bet). There really are some poor officials around these days.

We needed some typically mad but effective defending from Luke as the Rams kept at it, no doubt spurred on by that let-off, but we looked the more likely to do damage as that magical midfield trio, now with the hold-up play of Roberts on the right, began to torment the home defence.

Mind, when you're only one up, torment needs to turn into two up, but we couldn't quite manage it. Having used up all their subs, one of them decided he'd had enough and limped off to leave them with only ten men for the closing stages, so we swapped Le Fee for Hjelde and Rigg for Samed and the presence of our Norwegian/Nottingham stopper did what it usually does, and kept Patto's bed linen unsoiled. Keep what we've got - clever substitutions, Reg.

Seven added minutes were announced, presumably to test Hjelde's fitness, but we got stronger as the Rams got increasingly weaker and it was a case of hanging on comfortably - if that's such a thing where Sunderland are concerned - for a well deserved win. As the fans applauded the team, Mayenda went a bit Terry Butcher and whooped us into more celebrations. Long may that buy-in continue and spread through our squad.

Man of the Match? Great stuff up top from Mayenda and Issy, solid defensive work from the Lads at the back, but it has to be one of Neil, Bellingham, and Le Fee. What a little group to have at our disposal, so a really tricky one to pick. Ah, sod it, Mayenda scored, and he did that post-match whooping, so it's his.

Bring on Plymouth.

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