Derby win fails to hide our limitations

AS the third minute of stoppage time descended on the Stadium of Light last Saturday, the mood in the ground was fairly negative.

As I mentioned last time, a draw would have been no use. Fortunately, with only seconds left on the clock, Anthony Stokes — a former Irish Examiner National Junior Sports Star — scored the latest of our last gasp winners and the whole place erupted. Supporters staged a mini pitch invasion in mass scenes of hysteria, and whilst it can’t be condoned, it proved just how much this result meant to the supporters of Sunderland Football Club.

Fortunately, as fickle as football fans are, we’re not getting carried away on Wearside just yet. This wasn’t a great performance and we struggled to look superior to a Derby side that hadn’t scored in over 10 hours of football prior to kick off. However, on so many occasions this season we’ve played well and not got results, so it’s nice for the roles to be reversed for once. Whilst the players deserve a thumbs up for once again pushing till the very last minute to try and get a winner, much of the credit for the win will be pointed at the door of Roy Keane. The gaffer had come in for some understandable criticism during the build up, after last weekend’s humiliation at Goodison Park, but he showed why he’s being so highly rated with his team selection on Saturday.