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| Dick Advocaat Sunderland Manager |
The temptation is to call it the luck of the draw, the night when
Arsenal let Sunderland off the hook and allowed them to leave with the point
that keeps them in the division.
To do that would do Dick Advocaat and this Sunderland team a grave disservice.
Survival Sunday is for their bitter rivals Newcastle United and Hull
City now, a 90 minute shootout for the right to play at the Stadium of Light
next season. How about that.
There are times in this sport when you just have to sit back and enjoy
something as special as the moment when referee Anthony Taylor blew for full
time here.
You would never normally think that a ball booted indiscriminately 60
yards downfield in injury time could be compelling. Strangely, agonisingly,
this was.
In the lower tier of the south east stand, where 2,000 travelling
Sunderland supporters had watched the enormous Emirates clock count down the
three, excruciating minutes of injury time, it was bedlam.
‘Are you watching Newcastle?’ they sang raucously. Surely they
were.
At times like this, with players racing around the
stadium and TV reporters chasing them all over the place, it is impossible to
keep an eye on everything.
Advocaat went from hugging his 67-year-old assistant Bert Van Lingen in
the technical area to wiping away tears to hugging Sunderland’s players as they
left the field in what must have been the longest 60 seconds in history. It was
mesmerising.
Time is on Advocaat’s side now, with three days before they travel to
Stamford Bridge to face the Barclays Premier League champions Chelsea. Who
cares what happens there now?
All that matters is this one, the point Sunderland grafted against a
team that has not scored at home since they cuffed Liverpool 4-1 on April 4. Arsenal have lost
their mojo at home.
Everybody in the home team knocked on the door of Costel Pantilimon at
some stage, but he had one of those games that will be remembered for a very
long time. He looked and felt unbeatable.
He denied Jack Wilshere, starting his first game since November, in the
first half and followed it up with two more from Olivier Giroud and Kieran
Gibbs after the break.
Once Advocaat has composed himself he spoke of an announcement about his
future next week. The contract is surely in the post.
Their former chief executive Niall Quinn spoke enthusiastically about
him reuniting the club, energising the players and bringing pride back to the
area.
Under Advoccat, this Sunderland team battled bloody hard to remain in
this division.
Of course they held on, everyone has to at times here, but three
goalline clearances in the final ten minutes to save their skins is testament
to Sunderland’s endeavour. Their fans were in raptures at the end.
You would think there was a tube strike on judging by the number of
empty seats at the Emirates, but Arsenal’s journey for the season is nearly
over. It is all about the FA Cup final for them now.
Judging by Arsene Wenger’s miserable post-match appearance, the DVD will
now be on repeat for the next few days as to tries to work out why it has all
gone so wrong for them at home.
A draw with Chelsea, defeat at home to Garry Monk’s slick Swansea team
and now this, a point against a team who were basically a bunch of no-hopers
when Advocaat took this job on.
The Dutch coach has won three, drawn three and lost two in the league
since he replaced Gus Poyet, getting the job done with limited resources. He is
bold and assertive.
Here he went with Jermain Defoe down the left, giving the striker the
graveyard shift in an attempt to stop the first half raids of Hector Bellerin.
It was tough on him.
Santi Cazorla completed 153 passes, more than anyone else in the league
this season, but what do they mean if none of them are hit with conviction? The
answer is nothing.
Advocaat allowed those silky Arsenal midfielders - Cazorla, Jack
Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez - to have all the touches they wanted in the middle
third of the pitch. Gifted? Yes. Goals? None.
Sebastian Larsson and Lee Cattermole were sitting so close to
Sunderland’s central defenders that they could feel the hot breath of John
O’Shea and Sebastian Coates on the backs of their necks.
Their manager has given this club a lifeline, offering organisation and
structure to a team who were heading down with QPR and Burnley just six weeks
ago.
For a man who has coached 17 different teams in his management career,
Advocaat is not afraid of change. His substitutions, with two of them at
half-time, were adventurous and impressive.
Steven Fletcher missed a couple of very good chances when he came on for
Danny Graham, particularly when he cleared over David Ospina’s crossbar. On
another occasion, his dinked chip was cleared away for a corner.
Fletcher has not scored a goal for his club since the 3-1 victory at
Crystal Palace last November, but his ability to run down the clock by
shepherding the ball across Arsenal’s back line was crucial.
He was better here than his misses in front of goal will suggest.
At times, when Sunderland ventured forward in the second half, that it
felt like as though they would go on to win.
This was Sunderland’s night, an unforgettable experience for their fans
and there was a reminder from Advocaat that he is a coach of some pedigree.
To be fair to him, he’s got a point.
Source:dailymailsport
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