Bruce: Would you Adam and Eve it
After events at the Stadium of Light yesterday, it’s not difficult to see why he was so happy to run up a hefty bill in his ultimately fruitless pursuit of the midfielder.
Such was his dogged pursuit, Bruce was convinced he’d landed the 22-year-old from local rivals Middlesbrough. He was, after all, a Sunderland fan, brought up a stone’s throw from the Stadium of Light. That was until Manchester City blew the Wearside club out of the water by almost doubling their £25,000-a-week wage offer – and paying the £7.5million transfer fee in one hit.
Money talks in the Premier League. Johnson paid off another chunk of that hefty price-tag with a stunning injury-time equaliser.
If his number wasn’t already erased from Bruce’s favourites, it will be now. It was a goal to live long in the memory and it keeps the blue half of Manchester on course for a top-four finish, and the tilt at the Champions League which accompanies it.
Watched by several family and friends, it’s doubtful the one-time Stadium of Light regular will be welcome back on Wearside for a while, until the scars of his dramatic equaliser have healed somewhat.
Sunderland were on the verge of holding on for back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time in 49 games, and with that a rare three-point haul against a City side who’d won the last nine meetings between the clubs stretching back almost a decade.
That was until, two minutes into stoppage time, Craig Bellamy’s corner flew across the area to an un-marked Johnson. The winger took a steadying touch, before curling home a sublime equaliser from the corner of the box into the square foot available above Jordan Henderson on the line to earn a deserved point after an inspired performance from Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon looked like denying them even that humble aim.
It was a bitter pill for the hosts to swallow, and means they have now thrown away 10 points in the last 10 minutes of games this season. “It’s ironic that Johnson, a Sunderland fan, gets the equaliser,” Bruce admitted. “I can see the headlines now. I was on his case for months, unfortunately he chose City.”
A share of the spoils was enough to leave Sunderland seven points clear of danger, and the manager added: “The first-half was the best we’ve played for weeks but overall it was possibly a fair result. The way it came about is hard to take because I thought Craig had done enough to seal the win.
“It’s deeply frustrating and we have to think what could have been. We could quite easily have been sat here on 41 points.”
Gordon erected a one-man barrier and looked to have earned another win in their bid to climb away from danger. The over-employed Scot pulled off six memorable saves in the second half alone in an effort to protect the lead given the hosts by Kenwyne Jones inside the first 10 minutes.
Steed Malbranque has looked a different player since Bruce shifted him out to the left flank, and the £7m former Tottenham midfielder was at the heart of the move that left City trailing. The Frenchman took David Meyler’s pass, turned Micah Richards inside out before cutting in from the left to deliver an inch-perfect cross to Jones, who rose above Vincent Kompany to power a header past Shay Given for his eighth goal of the season.
Sadly for Sunderland, it was to be the striker’s last major say, as he failed to make it out for the second-half due to groin trouble that is likely to keep him out for a month.
Despite their overly sluggish start, City should have levelled midway through the first-half when Gareth Barry shot narrowly wide from 12 yards when it appeared easier to hit the target after good work down the right from Richards and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Roberto Mancini had seen enough, and introduced Roque Santa Cruz for Wayne Bridge in a tactical gamble as he scrapped his favoured 4-5-1 to give Carlos Tevez more support up front before the break. The move almost paid immediate dividends when a clever touch from Tevez released Santa Cruz on goal, but the Paraguay striker’s shot was well blocked by Gordon.
As City began to exert a strangle-hold, Wright-Phillips burst through, only to see his low shot saved by the keeper’s feet at the near post, who then had to be alert to claw out Craig Bellamy’s snap shot from a narrow angle which was sneaking into the corner of the net.
City stepped up their search for a leveller, but Gordon outdid both those saves with a stunning block to deny Tevez from just two yards after the Argentinian nipped in at the near post to meet Bellamy’s low cross. The Welshman was again the unlucky man with 10 minutes remaining as he sprung Sunderland’s offside trap – only to find Gordon in his way again with another brave block.
When Gordon kept out Bellamy’s deflected 18-yards effort in injury time City appeared to be a spent force – until Johnson took centre stage. “I don’t know why we started slowly but it was a blow to concede a goal so quickly,” Mancini conceded. “We just weren’t very good but after the break we were fantastic and carved out seven or eight chances.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t close the gap more on Spurs, but we’ve got them to come at home and if we want to reach that fourth spot it’s important we win that game.”
MATCH RATING: *** – The contest improved in direct relation to City shaking off a sluggish start to end the contest laying siege to the Sunderland goal.
REFEREE: Chris Foy (Merseyside 6 – Got all the major decisions right and helped keep the contest flowing in a game played in a decent spirit by both sides.
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