Football Live

Saturday December 15, 2007 Finished Stadium of Light

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Sunderland

  • Higginbotham 9’

Aston Villa

  • Maloney 72’
  1. Maloney pegs back Sunderland

    Maloney pegs back Sunderland

    Shaun Maloney came off the bench to score a sublime 72nd-minute free kick which earned Aston Villa a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Sunderland. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Sunderland
    • Aston Villa
    • 90' And that's it. Maloney's sweetly struck free kick earns Villa a hard-fought point as the Stadium of Light.
    • 90' Sunderland have a goal ruled out from a corner from the left. Collins put the ball into the net but Steve Bennett says Scott Carson was blocked as he tried to claim the ball.
    • 90' But Carson collects.
    • 90' Sunderland have a free kick wide on the left about 50 yards from goal. Leadbitter will cross this into the penalty area.
    • 90' Murphy delivers another great cross from the left - it falls for Whitehead, but the ball gets caught under his feet and eventually Villa clear.
    • 90' Three minutes of added time to come.
    • 88' Laursen can only head the ball to Darren Ward from the free kick though.
    • 88' Leadbitter with a late tackle on Maloney just inside the Sunderland half. Villa will launch this free kick forward.
    • 87' Jones is appealing for a penalty after his shot was blocked by Laursen's arm. Steve Bennett says no.
    • 86' Cole delivers a great cross from the right for Leadbitter, but the midfielder can only head straight at Carson in the Villa goal. What a chance.
    • 85' The corner is cleared away.
    • 84' Bouma tries a bicycle kick - of sorts - but it deflects wide for a Villa corner.
    • 83' Yorke with a tackle on Young that was about 5 minutes late. It's just a caution for the old timer.
    • 82' Desperate times and all that - Andrew (note, not Andy) Cole is coming on for Wallace.
    • 81' Sunderland hack the corner clear.
    • 80' Agbonlahor skins McShane for pace wide on the left, but the defender makes a vital challenge to concede a corner.
    • 79' Dwight Yorke looks shattered - he kicks the ball into touch under no pressure whatsoever.
    • 78' Darryl Murphy somehow hooks a cross into the box from the touchline wide on the left - but he can't pick out a team mate.
    • 77' Sunderland clear and look to break - but Young pulls back Leadbitter. Yellow card for Young.
    • 77' Collins is forced into conceding a corner after another threatening Young run.
    • 76' Chopra is playing right wing, with Murphy moving up to partner Jones in attack.
    • 75' The long-throw routine fails to work - Villa clear.
    • 75' Bouma cuts out a Chopra cross from the right to concede a throw near the corner flag.
    • 74' Chopra appeals for a penalty after Bouma tackles him inside the area. It was a dramatic, slow-motion dive by the forward, but Bouma won the ball. No penalty.
    • 73' Fantastic strike by the substitute - Martin O'Neill is doing the stereotypical pointing at his head to tell his players to stay focused.
    • 72' GOAL! It's Shaun Maloney with a dinked free kick into the top left corner.
    • 71' McShane fouls Maloney on the very edge of his own area. It's in a great position to shoot at goal.
    • 70' Carew fouls McShane in the penalty area.
    • 69' Sunderland make a second change. Chopra on for Stokes up front.
    • 68' Maloney's first contribution is to miscontrol the ball. The Scot is playing wide left, with Young moving to the right flank.
    • 67' Villa make their first change - Maloney on for Gardner.
    • 67' Sunderland are trying to play out time by holding on to the ball by the corner flag already! Leadbitter's time wasting tactics are ended by a tasty Young tackle.
    • 67' Murphy and Wallace have switched flanks.
    • 66' Ward races off his line to smother a through ball from Barry.
    • 64' Young crosses again from the left - but Carew is offside in the centre. He didn't need to be - lazy play by the Norwegian.
    • 64' Agbonlahor fails to make contact with a tempting Young cross from the left.
    • 63' Reo-Coker tackles Leadbitter wide on the left to concede a corner.
    • 61' Keane makes a change for Sunderland. Leadbitter on for Etuhu in midfield.
    • 59' Villa win yet another corner - but Steve Bennett blows for a free-kick to the home side. What was that for?!
    • 57' Sunderland concede a corner, but Ward punches the delivery clear.
    • 56' Murphy fouls Gardner to give Villa a free kick in a good position.
    • 55' Laursen heads Wallace's cross from the corner away with ease. Poor delivery.
    • 55' Murphy wins a corner for the home side to relieve the pressure.
    • 54' Etuhu nicks the ball off Gardner inside the Sunderland area.
    • 54' Whitehead makes a well-timed tackle on Young as the England midfielder broke again - it had to be well-timed, too.
    • 53' A frantic start to the second half - Sunderland are really struggling to deal with Ashley Young on the left wing.
    • 52' Ward holds on to a glancing Carew header from another Young cross.
    • 51' Young appeals for a penalty after his goal-bound strike appeared to strike Dwight Yorke's hand. Steve Bennett waves away the appeals.
    • 50' Murphy with a purposeful run on the left - he delivers into the area, but Carson collects well.
    • 49' Darren Ward makes a hash of a cross which he rushed out to claim. The ball drops for Carew, who prods it goalwards...but it's cleared off the line.
    • 49' Ross Wallace cuts in from the right on to his left foot, which he uses to power the ball goalwards. It's heading for the top corner, but it hits Stokes and goes for a goal kick.
    • 48' Mellberg needlessly kicks into touch.
    • 47' The set piece is launched to Carew, but McShane heads clear.
    • 46' Collins handles to give Villa a free-kick just inside the home team's half.
    • 46' Villa get us going in the second half.
    • 45' There isn't time to take the corner though - Steve Bennett blows his whistle to bring the first half to a close. Join us in 15 minutes for the second period - can Roy Keane's men hold on for a vital three points?
    • 45' Jones with a tantalisingly close right-footed strike at goal after he'd worked himself into space in the Villa box. The ref gives a corner - Carson must have got a touch.
    • 45' Which is cleared.
    • 45' Laursen's header from the corner was clearly going wide, but for some reason Whitehead gets his own head to it to concede another corner.
    • 45' Yorke cuts out a Carew cross from the left to concede a corner.
    • 45' Three minutes of added time to come.
    • 43' Jones has a cross from the right cut out after his strike partner Stokes had found him in space beautifully.
    • 41' Stokes heads the ball in but it's chalked off for offside. It came after Carson spilled a low Jones shot, which Wallace then directed towards Stokes. But it doesn't count.
    • 40' Whitehead fouls Young again. Roy Keane is angry about that - he tells the fourth official to let the teams play football.
    • 39' Laursen completely misses a long ball hoofed his way. Jones could have nipped in but the striker is too slow to get there in time. Knight clears.
    • 38' Carew hits the post after getting a great header on to a Young cross from the left.
    • 37' Bouma with a better delivery from the left this time, but Higginbotham heads away.
    • 36' Laursen can only direct the corner well wide of Ward's left-hand post.
    • 35' Collins blocks a Carew cross from the right wing to concede another corner.
    • 34' Whitehead hauls down Young again - he has to be careful not to get a second booking. He escapes a caution this time.
    • 33' Now McShane makes a vital block from a Barry shot from inside the area. All action performance from the Irish defender so far.
    • 33' McShane makes a well-timed challenge on Agbonlahor as the young striker dribbled the ball at pace towards goal.
    • 32' Gardner with a firm strike at goal from the edge of the Sunderland area - but it's straight at Ward, he collects calmly.
    • 31' What was I just saying about Bouma's left foot? I take it back - he's just mis-hit a cross to nobody from a good position wide on the left.
    • 30' Collins concedes a corner, which is taken by Barry again - and duly headed clear by Dwight Yorke again.
    • 29' Higginbotham makes a decent challenge on John Carew wide on the right to concede a throw.
    • 28' Bouma skews a right-footed shot from the edge of Sunderland box well wide. The Dutchman's better on his left to be fair.
    • 27' Jones heads over the bar after a Whitehead free kick into the Villa area had been headed on to the big striker on the penalty spot.
    • 25' Young with another dangerous run down the left. He overruns the ball and McShane nudges him into the advertising hoarding for good measure. Goal kick Sunderland.
    • 24' Laursen found Young wide on the left with a sweetly-struck 40-yard pass. The England man sold a dummy to Whitehead, but his cross was cleared by McShane.
    • 22' Whitehead is struggling with an injury of some sort after an aerial challenge with Agbonlahor. After a bit of groggy-eyed wandering in a circle, Whitehead decides he's OK after all.
    • 21' Stokes found himself in bags of space on the right side of the Villa area. But his low cross is cut out by Laursen.
    • 20' Whitehead shepherds the ball into touch under pressure from Young. Goal kick Sunderland.
    • 19' Laursen makes an unlikely surge towards the Sunderland area, but he scuffs a long-range effort well wide.
    • 19' The free kick bounces through to Agbonlahor. He smashes a half-volley wide - but he was offside anyway.
    • 18' Young is hauled down cynically by Whitehead. Yellow card for the Sunderland skipper.
    • 18' Yorke heads Barry's corner clear.
    • 17' Jones heads Barry's free kick behind for another Villa corner.
    • 16' Etuhu fouls Barry wide on the left about 45 yards from goal.
    • 14' Ward collects a Gardner cross from the right comfortably.
    • 13' Zat Knight is limping after an off-the-ball collision with Kenwyn Jones. It was accidental, but the centre back looks in a bit of pain.
    • 12' Agbonlahor has a stab at goal from the corner but the ball is blocked and booted clear.
    • 11' Whitehead needlessly concedes a corner to the away side.
    • 10' Sunderland are on the attack again. Knight has to cut out a Murphy cross from the left.
    • 9' GOAL! Higginbotham gets to it again and this time glances the ball into the top corner of the net. Good cross by Wallace and a great start to the match for Sunderland.
    • 8' Bouma heads behind for a corner.
    • 8' Sunderland win a free kick about 40 yards from goal to the right-hand side. Wallace to take.
    • 7' Which Higginbotham heads wide. The defender wanted another corner, but it's a Villa goal kick.
    • 6' Murphy is playing on the left wing instead - and he's just won his side a corner.
    • 5' Strange tactical move by Keane: one-footed left winger Ross Wallace is playing wide right.
    • 4' Yellow card for Gardner for a shocking challenge on Yorke. He just smashed into Yorke's stomach with his boot. Lucky to escape a red.
    • 2' Jones gives the ball away with a loose pass as Sunderland look to attack.
    • 1' Villa immediately win the ball and launch an attack. McShane clears.
    • 1' The home side get the game under way.
    • - The teams are out at the Stadium of Light. A huge game for the Roy Keane, who's Sunderland side slipped into the relegation side last week. Villa are looking to recover from that disappointing home defeat to Portsmouth a week ago.
    • - Match pointers: Sunderland have won just one of their last nine matches against Villa. Martin O'Neill's side have won the last three.
    • - VILLA TEAM NEWS: Martin O'Neill sticks with the same side well beaten by Pompey last week. Petrov has failed to recover from injury in time and is missing from the squad.
    • - SUNDERLAND TEAM NEWS: Liam Miller begins his suspension for the red card he received after slapping Chelsea's Claudio Pizarro last weekend - Murphy replaces him in an unfamiliar role wide on the right. Dean Whitehead switches from midfield to right back, with the hapless Greg Halford missing out completely. Stokes partners Jones up front.
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of Sunderland v Aston Villa, from 15:00 GMT!

  • Team Stats

    Sunderland Stats Aston Villa
    43% Possession 56%
    10 Shots 15
    3 Shots on target 5
    0 Saves 0
    5 Corners 13
    14 Fouls 17
    2 Offsides 3
    2 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    19 Tackles 24
    168 Accurate passes 221
    48 Bad passes 58

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Sunderland
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      13 Darren Ward 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 2 0
      6 Paul McShane 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 7 0 4
      15 Danny Collins 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 21 12 4
      14 Danny Higginbotham 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 2 1
      19 Dwight Yorke 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 39 9 1
      4 Dickson Etuhu 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 6 1 2
      8 Dean Whitehead 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 16 1 4
      33 Ross Wallace 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 11 4 0
      17 Kenwyne Jones 0 4 1 1 3 0 0 15 4 0
      9 Anthony Stokes 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 11 1 1
      11 Daryl Murphy 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 10 1
      18 Grant Leadbitter 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 12 2 1
      16 Michael Chopra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
      1 Craig Gordon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      23 Roy O'Donovan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Andy Cole 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
    • Aston Villa
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      22 Scott Carson 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 3 0
      5 Martin Laursen 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 24 5 5
      3 Wilfred Bouma 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 19 9 3
      26 Craig Gardner 0 1 1 2 1 1 0 13 0 1
      16 Zatyiah Knight 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 1 2
      4 Olof Mellberg 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 26 0 2
      20 Nigel Reo-Coker 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 27 8 6
      6 Gareth Barry 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 32 5 2
      11 Gabriel Agbonlahor 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 19 8 1
      10 John Carew 0 3 3 5 0 0 0 20 7 0
      7 Ashley Young 0 2 0 2 5 0 0 17 11 2
      23 Patrik Berger 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Stuart Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Marlon Harewood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      28 Shaun Maloney 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 4 1 0
      27 Isaiah Osbourne 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90' Sunderland have a goal ruled out from a corner from the left. Collins put the ball into the net but Steve Bennett says Scott Carson was blocked as he tried to claim the ball.
    • 90' Murphy delivers another great cross from the left - it falls for Whitehead, but the ball gets caught under his feet and eventually Villa clear.
    • 86' Cole delivers a great cross from the right for Leadbitter, but the midfielder can only head straight at Carson in the Villa goal. What a chance.
    • 78' Darryl Murphy somehow hooks a cross into the box from the touchline wide on the left - but he can't pick out a team mate.
    • 74' Chopra appeals for a penalty after Bouma tackles him inside the area. It was a dramatic, slow-motion dive by the forward, but Bouma won the ball. No penalty.
    • 72' GOAL! It's Shaun Maloney with a dinked free kick into the top left corner.
    • 51' Young appeals for a penalty after his goal-bound strike appeared to strike Dwight Yorke's hand. Steve Bennett waves away the appeals.
    • 50' Murphy with a purposeful run on the left - he delivers into the area, but Carson collects well.
    • 49' Darren Ward makes a hash of a cross which he rushed out to claim. The ball drops for Carew, who prods it goalwards...but it's cleared off the line.
    • 49' Ross Wallace cuts in from the right on to his left foot, which he uses to power the ball goalwards. It's heading for the top corner, but it hits Stokes and goes for a goal kick.
    • 45' Jones with a tantalisingly close right-footed strike at goal after he'd worked himself into space in the Villa box. The ref gives a corner - Carson must have got a touch.
    • 41' Stokes heads the ball in but it's chalked off for offside. It came after Carson spilled a low Jones shot, which Wallace then directed towards Stokes. But it doesn't count.
    • 38' Carew hits the post after getting a great header on to a Young cross from the left.
    • 33' Now McShane makes a vital block from a Barry shot from inside the area. All action performance from the Irish defender so far.
    • 32' Gardner with a firm strike at goal from the edge of the Sunderland area - but it's straight at Ward, he collects calmly.
    • 27' Jones heads over the bar after a Whitehead free kick into the Villa area had been headed on to the big striker on the penalty spot.
    • 24' Laursen found Young wide on the left with a sweetly-struck 40-yard pass. The England man sold a dummy to Whitehead, but his cross was cleared by McShane.
    • 21' Stokes found himself in bags of space on the right side of the Villa area. But his low cross is cut out by Laursen.
    • 9' GOAL! Higginbotham gets to it again and this time glances the ball into the top corner of the net. Good cross by Wallace and a great start to the match for Sunderland.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Stephen Graham Bennett

  • Sunderland

    Manager: Roy Keane

    Captain: Dwight Yorke

    On the Field

    • Ward
    • Whitehead Yellow Card
    • McShane
    • Higginbotham Goal
    • Collins
    • Murphy
    • Yorke Yellow Card
    • Etuhu Substitution Out (61′)
    • Wallace Substitution Out (82′)
    • Stokes Substitution Out (69′)
    • Jones

    Subs

    • Cole Substitution In (82′)
    • Chopra Substitution In (69′)
    • Gordon
    • Leadbitter Substitution In (61′)
    • O'Donovan

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    • Miller

  • Aston Villa

    Manager: Martin O'Neill

    Captain: Gareth Barry

    On the Field

    • Carson
    • Mellberg
    • Knight
    • Laursen
    • Bouma
    • Reo-Coker
    • Gardner Yellow Card Substitution Out (67′)
    • Barry
    • Agbonlahor
    • Young Yellow Card
    • Carew

    Subs

    • Berger
    • Taylor
    • Harewood
    • Maloney Substitution In (67′) Goal
    • Osbourne

    Injured

    • Petrov

    Suspended

    None