Match Report: Sunderland 2 Arsenal 0
JUMPING FOR JOY ... Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson celebrates after watching Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain score an own goal during the FA Cup 5th Round clash between Sunderland and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light.
THE omens swirling around the Stadium of Light are becoming harder to ignore.
Martin O’Neill appointed midway through a season, just as Bob Stokoe was; top-flight aristocrats Arsenal overcome along the way – just as they were in 1973; even the day of this year’s final: May 5 has a special symbolism for Black Cats fans.
However, all the coincidences in the world don’t matter if the players tasked with the job of making headway don’t produce on the day.
And on Saturday, O’Neill’s men executed his game plan to perfection to send Arsenal’s season spiralling from calamity to crisis, and shoot Sunderland into the last eight of the FA Cup.
A draw away to Everton at Goodison Park in the next round will mean Sunderland will have to do it the hard way, if they are to do it at all.
But O’Neill will feel that if his side can play like they did against Arsenal on Saturday, they will give any team in the land a real game.
Sunderland were absolutely terrific against Arsenal from front to back.
A midfield trio of Craig Gardner, Lee Cattermole and Jack Colback snapped and harried Arsenal all over the park, and never let them settle.
James McClean and Seb Larsson on the flanks worked ceaselessly, while lone striker Stephane Sessegnon ran himself into the ground for the cause.
Arsenal had made five changes to the side which lost so crushingly to AC Milan midweek, six to the team which beat Sunderland 2-1 the previous week – Gervinho’s return from the African Cup of Nations compensating for the loss of on-loan Thierry Henry.
Sunderland by contrast made only one, skipper Cattermole, who turned in a man-of-the-match performance, replacing Fraizer Campbell.
Cattermole and his colleagues needed all their energy as Arsenal threatened initially to put their Milan malaise behind them.
There was only one team in it in the first six minutes as Arsenal passed the ball well and probed for an opening, culminating in Mikel Arteta whistling a free-kick narrowly wide.
Sunderland’s first attack, eight minutes in, was aborted by Seb Larsson who put the ball into touch after initially winning it from Francis Coquelin who had gone down clutching his hamstring.
The French left-back limped off the pitch, and Arsenal lost their fluency after the reshuffle, with their rearguard looking decidedly vulnerable virtually every time Sunderland went on the front foot.
But Sunderland did not produce an effort on goal until the quarter-hour when Sessegnon fired wide.
By the mid-point of the first half the game had become more evenly balanced, but Arsenal upped their game, and produced the best effort so far – Gervinho forcing a good save out of Simon Mignolet.
Arsenal went close in the 32nd minute when Alex Song played in Robin van Persie, and John O’Shea’s tackle had to be timed to perfection in getting to the ball a fraction of a second before he clattered into the Dutch striker.
Match Report: Sunderland 1 Arsenal 2
The pivotal moment though came in the 38th minute when Gardner forced Johan Djourou into an error – the defender pulling the midfielder back 25 yards from goal, earning himself a booking in the process.
Larsson curled the ball in, only for Thomas Vermaelen to head clear, but the ball reached Kieran Richardson, whose low shot deflected off Sebastien Squillaci and into the net.
Sunderland stepped things up after the break.
Bacary Sagna was fortunate to stay on the pitch within a minute of the restart when he took out James McClean 22 yards from goal – it was perfect Larsson territory, but the Swede fired over.
Arsenal looked rattled by Sunderland’s dogged closing down and it wasn’t until after the hour mark that they began to enjoy possession around the Sunderland area.
Van Persie was fouled by Larsson – the former Gunner picking up a booking for his challenge – but neither the Dutchman’s free-kick nor resulting corner proved damaging.
For once it was not the Dutchman’s day and when he put a decent chance, by his own standards, over the bar from 10 yards out later in the game, you began to sense the Gunners’ problem – if he doesn’t score, Arsenal aren’t likely to.
The Londoners were still in it up to the 78th minute, but then came a brilliant breakaway goal from the Wearsiders.
Terrier-like Jack Colback found Sessegnon up the left channel and the striker covered half the length of the pitch before releasing the ball on edge of the Arsenal area.
The lay-off reached Larsson who had made a great run to be in a position to shoot – his low effort hit the post and rolled into the path of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who shinned the ball into an open goal.
It sealed Sunderland’s place in the last eight, but O’Neill knows that while the cup has been magic so far, much legwork remains to be done in the league.
Twitter: @shieldsgazsport
SUNDERLAND: Mignolet 6, Bardsley 7, Turner 6, O’Shea 8, Richardson 7, Larsson 7, Gardner 6, CATTERMOLE 8, Colback 8, McClean 8, Sessegnon 7 (Campbell 88). Subs not used: Westwood, Kyrgiakos, Bridge, Meyler Elmohamady, Ji.
ARSENAL: Fabianski, Sagna, Vermaelen, Djourou, Coquelin (Squillaci 10, Walcott 53), Song, Arteta, Ramsey (Rosicky 52), Oxlade-Chamberlain, VAN PERSIE, Gervinho. Subs not used: Szczesny, Arshavin, Chamakh, Benayoun.
Highlight: Sunderland’s smallest crowd of the season created one of the biggest noises of the campaign. Take a bow everyone who was there.
Lowlight: Noisy though they were, it was a shame the tie couldn’t entice more fans to come.
Man of the match: Skipper Lee Cattermole led by example.
Goals: Richardson (Sunderland) 40, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) (own goal) 78.
Bookings: Djourou (Arsenal) 39, Sagna (Arsenal) 47, Vermaelen (Arsenal) 57, Larsson (Sunderland) 64, Gardner (Sunderland) 75, Cattermole (Sunderland) 79.
Ref: Howard Webb (Rotherham)
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