Sunderland 3-3 Bolton Wanderers
Sunderland’s home demons continued to haunt them on Halloween as their Sky Bet Championship meeting with Bolton Wanderers provided a six-goal thriller.
But there were positives to take at the Stadium of Light as Didier Ndong’s incisive passing and Lewis Grabban’s ruthless finishing ensured a point for the Black Cats.
THE WRAP
It was end to end throughout at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland were held to a 3-3 draw by Bolton Wanderers. Once again, the Black Cats started strongly but once again they fell behind as Sammy Ameobi’s opened the scoring. Simon Grayson’s side responded as Lewis Grabban notched his seventh goal of the season before the break, and he added his eighth following the restart as Ndong’s passing once again unlocked the Bolton defence. A nightmare followed as Gary Madine levelled before Karl Henry sent the Trotters into a 3-2 lead, but Paddy McNair had the final say and his well-taken strike ensured it ended all-square at the SoL.
ALL CHANGE
Simon Grayson made wholesale changes in every department ahead of the game, with the most notable switch seeing Robbin Ruiter replacing Jason Steele between the posts. Adam Matthews, Marc Wilson and Callum McManaman were also named in the starting XI, as Billy Jones missed out and Lamine Kone and Duncan Watmore dropped to the bench. Bolton, meanwhile, named some familiar north-east faces in their line-up, as former Middlesbrough defender David Wheater captained the side and Newcastle United academy graduates Sammy Ameobi and Adam Armstrong started on the flanks.
OPENING EXCHANGES
The visitors opted for a direct approach and it almost paid off as they created the first chance. A long ball forward was chested down by Madine and it fell perfectly for Mark Beevers, but the defender snatched at it and his effort sailed wide. Sunderland responded with successive corners as McManaman provided the initial spark in the final third, with Bolton penned into their defensive third as Darron Gibson tidied up any attempts to counter. And McManaman’s bright start continued on 16 minutes, as fired up the afterburners and burst into the box before being ushered off balance by Antonee Robinson.
TRADING BLOWS
There was a familiar name on the teamsheet and, inevitably, it was he who did the damage in the first-half. Moments after powering a header straight at Ruiter, Madine once again towered above his man to knock a long ball down to Ameobi who took one touch before fizzing the ball into the net from 35 yards. Ruiter arguably should have done better, but there was no time to dwell as Sunderland once again searched for a response after falling behind on Wearside. And they found one 60 seconds before the interval, as a defence-splitting ball from Ndong sent Grabban on his way and he prodded the ball beyond Ben Alnwick.
GRABBAN AT THE DOUBLE
Back on level terms, Sunderland made a change at the break as James Vaughan replaced Jonny Williams and the Black Cats went with two up top. Five after the restart the former Toffee went for the spectacular as an acrobatic bicycle kick flew wide of the post, and he continued to toil up top as penalty appeals were soon waved away as he attempted to latch onto Grabban’s square ball. But there was no such controversy just a few minutes later, as another incisive pass from Ndong sliced open the Trotters defence and Bryan Oviedo squared to Grabban for a simple finish.
TO HELL AND BACK
It was all going so well at the Stadium of Light, but with two minutes of taking the lead Sunderland were pegged back. The Black Cats failed to clear Josh Vela’s free-kick and the Trotters simply showed more desire to pick up the second ball, as Madine pounced in the box to level it up. Grayson’s men never recovered and seven minutes later they were caught cold. Robinson was the architect as retrieved a slack back pass before hanging the ball up at the back post where Henry thundered home. All hope seemed lost as an eerie atmosphere descended on Wearside, but to their credit the Black Cats kept fighting and substitute McNair dragged them level with 11 minutes remaining as he rifled a 20-yard effort beyond Alnwick. And that proved to be that with both sides forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
Attendance: 26, 395
Sunderland: Ruiter, Oviedo, Matthews, Wilson, O’Shea, Gibson (McNair 75), Ndong, Williams (Vaughan 46), McManaman (Watmore 61), McGeady, Grabban.
Substitutes: Steele, Cattermole, Kone, Honeyman.
Bolton Wanderers: Alnwick, Little, Beevers, Vela, Ameobi, Madine, Robinson, Armstrong (Noone 84), Pratley, Henry, Wheater.
Substitutes: Howard, Le Fondre, Buckley, Cullen, Osede, Darby.