FOOTBALL Live

Saturday January 17, 2009 Finished Stadium of Light

1 - 2

Sunderland

  • Collins 11’

Aston Villa

  • Milner 55’
  • Barry 79’ (pen.)
  1. Villa snatch victory at Sunderland

    Villa snatch victory at Sunderland

    Aston Villa came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 in their Premier League encounter at the Stadium of Light. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Sunderland
    • Aston Villa
    • - This just in: Chelsea score a sensational last-minute winner against Stoke to mean that they hang on to third place. That'll take the edge of Villa's win... Thanks for joining us, and remember that we've got all the rest of the weekend's football from across Europe live right here.
    • 90'+4 That's it, all over at the Stadium of Light in what's been a turbulent match. Congratulations to Villa as they go second, but in truth this is one of those matches that could easily have gone either way.
    • 90'+3 Yet more attacking waves from the home side, but Villa have all their men tracking back to cover. The chances of an equaliser get less and less likely with every second.
    • 90'_2 Sunderland keep on coming like one of those refuse-to-die zombies in a poor horror film. And this second half has been a horror film for the home side, who had looked so comfortable in the first period.
    • 89' Penalty shout for Sunderland! Was it handball? They might have had two spot kicks for that offence in this match, but Luke Young avoids being penalised.
    • 87' Last few throws of the dice for Sunderland, but they make nothing of their corner and Villa run back up the pitch on the break to win their own corner, from which they waste a few minutes successfully.
    • 84' Another yellow, this time for Teemu Tainio's trip attempt - he just stuck his foot out a little further after missing the ball in an attempt to take out the man instead. No arguing with that one.
    • 81' Conceding the penalty was hard on Sunderland, who had another man in the box as well as Fulop well-placed - but there's little doubt that the Villa striker was brought down. Up the other end Sunderland make a chance but it's well cut out by Davies.
    • 79' PENALTY TO VILLA - AND A GOAL!!!! Agbonlahor was brought down just inside the box, and Barry made absolutely no mistake with a penalty driven high and hard into the roof of the net. Excellent spot kick there from the midfielder.
    • 78' SO NEARLY A GOAL!!! Sunderland make a good move up the right with Cisse getting on the end of the cross in by Edwards, only stopped by a brilliant save by Friedel.
    • 77' Things have calmed right down in Sunderland following that burst of activity for the sending off. There will be a few minutes of injury time played now, for certain.
    • 74' That straight red might have been a little harsh on Young since he did get a bit of the ball, but a two-footed challenge is no longer acceptable in the game. He looked grim-faced as he marched off, the youngster clearly felt awful about his clumsiness. Villa plug the gap he leaves by replacing Sidwell with Gardner.
    • 71' A nasty mis-timed tackle there by Ashley Young on Dean Whitehead... Young two-footedly takes out the opposing midfielder in a horrific challenge. AND THE REF GIVES HIM A STRAIGHT RED! UNBELIEVABLE!!! The wonder-winger is off for an early bath!!!
    • 69' Very nearly a second goal for Villa, when Milner's cross shins off Sunderland replacement defender Bardsley and over the bar.
    • 66' For all the running about there's very little in the way of shots on goal in this half - but the change in the pattern of the game is showing Sunderland now dominating the possession in this half.
    • 63' Anybody's match now, Sunderland and Villa are both flying at each other to determine who takes three points home. Tackles are flying in all over the place, words are being excchanged with the ref, and it's turned into a very lively match!
    • 60' That Danny Collins knock on the head is obviously hurting him - he comes off and is replaced by Paul McShane (but sadly not the same Paul McShane who played Ted in Hi-de-hi).
    • 57' EXTRAORDINARY GOAL FOR VILLA!!! Young makes a great darting run up the right and puts in a cross at full speed to James Milner. Milner falls over - impossible to say if he loses his footing or is pushed by the chasing defender - but incredibly falls straight into the ball, which ricochets off his head and in to the net! Incredible stuff at the Stadium of Light!
    • 56' A beautiful run from Kenwyne Jones, who for the first time in the match appears to justify the price tag which has been bandied around for him in the last week or two. He beats three men in a 20-yard run into the box... but then a weak finish is simple fodder for Friedel.
    • 54' Sunderland definitely have a new tactic here, one which seems to revolve around hanging on to the ball as much as possible. And why not? They can't concede if they're in their opponents' half.
    • 51' A yellow for Djibril Cisse after a slightly mis-aimed sliding tackle - Milner made the absolute most of it, it must be said.
    • 50' A betting man at half-time would have put money on Villa to come out fighting, but it's Sunderland who've had the better of the second half in the first few minutes. Ricky Sbragia must have warned them not to sit back on a one-goal lead.
    • 48' Danny Collins takes a knock on the head in an accidental clash with Nigel Reo-Coker, and heads off the pitch for a bit of treatment.
    • 46' We're back under way here at the Stadium of Light! Can Martin O'Neill's side overturn the deficit? They'll need something special here to break down the hosts if the evidence of the first half is anything to go by.
    • 45' No injury time whatsoever there, and Sunderland stroll off with a well-earned lead. Villa have had the lion's share of possession, but Sunderland's defence has been simply magnificient so far this afternoon.
    • 44' Nearing the end of the half and Sunderland use a free kick to springboard them up the pitch. This time it's Villa's defence that is rock-solid, though, and it comes to naught.
    • 43' Nosworthy receives a fairly harsh yellow for a push on Ashley Young that looked more like the usual argby-bargy of a contact sport than a foul - but there you go, it's Mike Dean's decision that counts on 50/50 calls like that.
    • 42' Diouf makes up for his foul at the other end by winning a free kick for Sunderland just at the left corner-flag... but it's well cleared by a leaping Gareth Barry.
    • 40' Lovely foul there by Diouf on Milner, he just ran in to him after the Villa midfielder had touched the ball away. It's Ashley young with the free kick... OOOH!!! IT WAS CLOSE!! A decent low curler dips just left of the post.
    • 38' A half-chance for Sunderland on the break there - the only way they've been attacking since the goal - but Cisse is well off-side.
    • 36' Villa must be well on top of the possession stats here at the Stadium of Light: yet another attacking wave comes forward and yet again it's batted away. Sunderland surely can't keep on defending like this, can they? Sooner or later you feel that the visitors must find a way through, if only by the law of averages.
    • 34' Free kick to Villa! Nosworthy takes out Milner to hand over the chance, but yet again there was no way through and the ball is well cleared. Martin O'Neill must be desperate for half-time to come so he can figure out a way through the red and white wall.
    • 32' Marton Fulop has still had nothing to do in the Sunderland goal, so strong has the defence been in front of him. A nice build-up on the right by Milner leads to Gareth Barry in the box with the ball, but he's closed down by three men before he can get a shot away.
    • 29' Ashley Young makes one of his good runs down the left but is tackled well. From the kick he once again finds himself on the ball and tries to dribble through half of Sunderland's midfield until inevitably losing the ball.
    • 27' Sunderland win a couple of corners after Whitehead's earlier chance, and though Anton Ferdinand gets his head to the second of the two the ball loops just past the far top corner.
    • 25' GREAT EFFORT BY SUNDERLAND! A gorgeous build-up leads to some terrific passes that releases Whitehead in the six-yard box... but Friedel stops his effort well with his legs. Against a lesser keeper you feel that might well have been the second goal.
    • 23' A free kick for Villa on the left flank brings up yet another cross, and yet again it's very well cut out. That home defence is looking like a tungsten wall at the moment - nothing can get through.
    • 20' The game's pace slows down a little, with both sides resorting to long balls for consecutive attacks. When one of the sides decides to run with it it's Milner for Villa down the right, but yet again the cross is very cleanly dealt with by the Black Cats back four.
    • 18' A nice move from Villa sees Young and Milner link up - and Milner makes it into the six-yard box before being dispossessed. Corner well cleared again, but Villa's little touches and through-balls are just not quite good enough to make the opening.
    • 16' Sunderland are looking good here, putting pressure on Villa - and that pressure shows when Luke Young loses possession and slides in recklessly to try to win the ball back. The referee is not impressed.
    • 14' Villa come back in to things, putting pressure on their opponents and winning first a corner then a free kick. Ashley Young puts the ball in but it's cleared well by the defence.
    • 11' A hack by Curtis Davies on Edwards gives the Black Cats a free kick, which is brilliantly looped in to the head of Danny Collins - who nods clean past Friedel AND IT'S A GOAL TO SUNDERLAND! THE HOSTS GO AHEAD!!!
    • 8' Another good move up the left from Villa - Barry the key man again - and final ball almost finds a sliding Ashley Young in the six-yard box. After that nervy start Villa are looking good.
    • 6' The visitors come back in to things, with Gareth Barry moving out wide to put in a couple of decent crosses. The Sunderland defence are equal to both and clear the danger quickly.
    • 4' The replay shows that it was Cuellar who handled there, and it was definitely hand-to-ball - Martin O'Neill's men have just had a major let-off.
    • 3' First opportunity falls to the visitors, when a looping cross from Diouf wins a corner - and there's a good penalty shout when one of the Villa players handles in the box! The ref doesn't see it, however, and play carries on.
    • 1' And the match kicks off! The home team had a purposeful-looking huddle immediately before the start, they seem determined to spoil Villa's fun.
    • - The players are on the pitch and warming up in what's a huge opportunity for Villa to consolidate their league position. Sunderland should be theirs for the taking.
    • - Sunderland take on Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light with Martin O'Neill's side able to go third if they win and Chelsea fail to beat Stoke - LIVE from 15:00 UK time!

  • Team Stats

    Sunderland Stats Aston Villa
    48% Possession 51%
    13 Shots 7
    5 Shots on target 3
    1 Saves 3
    8 Corners 6
    19 Fouls 14
    3 Offsides 0
    4 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 1
    27 Tackles 24
    221 Accurate passes 254
    50 Bad passes 63

  • 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
      32 Marton Fülöp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 0
      5 Nyron Nosworthy 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 1 1
      15 Danny Collins 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 16 12 3
      21 Pascal Chimbonda 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 23 1 3
      26 Anton Ferdinand 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 20 6 5
      6 Dean Whitehead 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 37 5 7
      4 Teemu Tainio 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 37 8 5
      7 Carlos Edwards 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 14 0 0
      9 Djibril Cisse 0 4 1 1 2 3 0 11 2 0
      17 Kenwyne Jones 0 3 2 2 3 0 0 11 2 1
      11 El Hadji Diouf 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 20 5 1
      18 Grant Leadbitter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Paul McShane 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 0
      16 Michael Chopra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      46 Nick Colgan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      2 Phillip Bardsley 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 7 2 1
      23 David Healy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Andy Reid 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0
    • Aston Villa
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Brad Friedel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 0
      24 Carlos Cuéllar 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 21 5 1
      2 Luke Young 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 22 13 2
      15 Curtis Davies 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 21 2 2
      6 Gareth Barry 1 2 1 2 3 0 0 32 15 5
      19 Stilian Petrov 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 36 9 1
      4 Steve Sidwell 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 21 4 2
      8 James Milner 1 2 1 2 4 0 0 27 4 3
      20 Nigel Reo-Coker 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 34 0 4
      7 Ashley Young 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 13 6 3
      11 Gabriel Agbonlahor 0 2 1 1 2 0 0 11 3 0
      16 Zatyiah Knight 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      26 Craig Gardner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1
      14 Nathan Delfouneso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Brad Guzan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Marlon Harewood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Nicky Shorey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 Moustapha Salifou 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 89' Penalty shout for Sunderland! Was it handball? They might have had two spot kicks for that offence in this match, but Luke Young avoids being penalised.
    • 79' PENALTY TO VILLA - AND A GOAL!!!! Agbonlahor was brought down just inside the box, and Barry made absolutely no mistake with a penalty driven high and hard into the roof of the net. Excellent spot kick there from the midfielder.
    • 78' SO NEARLY A GOAL!!! Sunderland make a good move up the right with Cisse getting on the end of the cross in by Edwards, only stopped by a brilliant save by Friedel.
    • 71' A nasty mis-timed tackle there by Ashley Young on Dean Whitehead... Young two-footedly takes out the opposing midfielder in a horrific challenge. AND THE REF GIVES HIM A STRAIGHT RED! UNBELIEVABLE!!! The wonder-winger is off for an early bath!!!
    • 57' EXTRAORDINARY GOAL FOR VILLA!!! Young makes a great darting run up the right and puts in a cross at full speed to James Milner. Milner falls over - impossible to say if he loses his footing or is pushed by the chasing defender - but incredibly falls straight into the ball, which ricochets off his head and in to the net! Incredible stuff at the Stadium of Light!
    • 56' A beautiful run from Kenwyne Jones, who for the first time in the match appears to justify the price tag which has been bandied around for him in the last week or two. He beats three men in a 20-yard run into the box... but then a weak finish is simple fodder for Friedel.
    • 40' Lovely foul there by Diouf on Milner, he just ran in to him after the Villa midfielder had touched the ball away. It's Ashley young with the free kick... OOOH!!! IT WAS CLOSE!! A decent low curler dips just left of the post.
    • 25' GREAT EFFORT BY SUNDERLAND! A gorgeous build-up leads to some terrific passes that releases Whitehead in the six-yard box... but Friedel stops his effort well with his legs. Against a lesser keeper you feel that might well have been the second goal.
    • 11' A hack by Curtis Davies on Edwards gives the Black Cats a free kick, which is brilliantly looped in to the head of Danny Collins - who nods clean past Friedel AND IT'S A GOAL TO SUNDERLAND! THE HOSTS GO AHEAD!!!
    • 3' First opportunity falls to the visitors, when a looping cross from Diouf wins a corner - and there's a good penalty shout when one of the Villa players handles in the box! The ref doesn't see it, however, and play carries on.
    • - Sunderland take on Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light with Martin O'Neill's side able to go third if they win and Chelsea fail to beat Stoke - LIVE from 15:00 UK time!

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Mike Dean

  • Sunderland

    Manager: Ricky Sbragia

    Captain: Dean Whitehead

    Starting line-up

    • M. Fulop
    • P. Chimbonda
    • A. Ferdinand
    • N. Nosworthy Yellow Card Substitution Out (57′)
    • D. Collins Goal Substitution Out (57′)
    • C. Edwards
    • D. Whitehead
    • T. Tainio Yellow Card
    • E. Diouf Substitution Out (80′)
    • K. Jones
    • D. Cissé Yellow Card

    Subs

    • D. Healy
    • A. Reid Substitution In80′
    • N. Colgan
    • M. Chopra
    • P. Bardsley Substitution In57′
    • C. Gordon
    • P. McShane Substitution In57′

    Injured

    • G. McCartney
    • K. Richardson
    • G. Leadbitter

    Suspended

    • S. Malbranque

  • Aston Villa

    Manager: Martin O'Neill

    Captain: Gareth Barry

    Starting line-up

    • B. Friedel
    • N. Reo-Coker
    • C. Davies
    • C. Cuellar
    • L. Young Yellow Card
    • S. Petrov
    • S. Sidwell Substitution Out (72′)
    • G. Barry
    • J. Milner Goal
    • A. Young Red Card
    • G. Agbonlahor

    Subs

    • M. Harewood
    • Z. Knight
    • N. Shorey
    • M. Salifou
    • C. Gardner Substitution In72′
    • B. Guzan
    • N. Delfouneso

    Injured

    • J. Carew
    • M. Laursen
    • W. Bouma

    Suspended

    None