Sunderland 0 Norwich City 0 match report: Wes Brown’s red leaves Gus Poyet blue
Sunderland had Brown sent-off late-on and are staring relegation in the face unless they can drastically change their form
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For Sunderland, 2013 cannot end quickly enough. In the 93rd minute, another miserable afternoon was compounded when Wes Brown was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Ricky van Wolfswinkel that left the Norwich substitute floored and his team-mates furious. The centre half, who was also sent off against Stoke last month, a decision that was rescinded, showed a reckless side in the tackle.
He will now miss Sunderland’s next three games and they can ill afford to be without one of their most influential players, following his return against Manchester City in November after a prolonged period absent through injury.
Gus Poyet, the Sunderland manager, refused to give his thoughts on Martin Atkinson’s decision, but said: “It will be more difficult [through Brown’s absence], that is for sure. We were getting stability in defence. We were getting clean sheets. Now we have lost one of the leaders and it is unexpected. I didn’t see it slowly. I can’t comment on it.
“When you are at the bottom you lose the player you don’t want to lose. The decision doesn’t go your way. The keeper makes an unbelievable save. There is always something. It is life at the bottom. We were not expecting this. I hate excuses.”
Sunderland have failed to score now in eight Premier League games. Jozy Altidore, who was again preferred to Steven Fletcher, has scored once in 14 League games this season following his £6 million summer move.
A Brown header, and when Ki Sung-yueng lobbed a shot onto the top of the Norwich goal, was as close as Sunderland got to a goal. In reply, Gary Hooper and van Wolfswinkel both missed good opportunities for the visitors.
Line-ups:
Sunderland (4-1-4-1): Mannone; Celustka, Brown, O’Shea, Bardsley; Cattermole; Borini, Ki, Larsson (Roberge, 90), Giaccherini (Johnson, 63); Altidore (Fletcher, 68).
Norwich City (4-4-2): Ruddy; Whittaker, Turner, Bassong, Olsson; Snodgrass, Fer, Johnson, Redmond; Hooper, Elmander (Van Wolfswinkel, 77).
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Man of the match: Turner (Norwich)
Match rating: 4/10
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments