YOU can certainly say one thing about this Sunderland side – they keep going to the final whistle. For the third game in a row, the Black Cats claimed a dramatic late winner to fuel their play-off push, and for the second home match in succession, it was Nathan Broadhead wheeling away in celebration after scoring in stoppage time to settle things. If you’re a season-ticket holder at the Stadium of Light, you certainly don’t want to be leaving early to beat the traffic.
Broadhead’s glanced header from Jack Clarke’s cross enabled Sunderland to pull three points clear of seventh-placed Sheffield Wednesday, albeit having played a game more, and ensured Alex Neil’s side were not left to rue a sloppy start to the second half that had looked like undoing all their good work before the interval.
Leading through early strikes from Elliot Embleton and Broadhead, the Black Cats were pegged back when Tom Flanagan followed up Josh Vela’s effort to become the third former Sunderland player to score for the opposition at the Stadium of Light this season.
For a while, Flanagan’s volleyed effort looked like following similarly costly strikes from Chris Maguire and Connor Whickham that robbed the Black Cats of points. This is a Sunderland team that doesn’t give up on anything though, and after Ross Stewart rattled the crossbar, Broadhead nodded home to extend his rich vein of form. Stewart might have hit a dry patch in the last month or so, but Broadhead has returned from injury at the ideal moment to take up the slack.
It was the kind of breathless finish that Sunderland supporters are becoming accustomed to, although it had not looked like being necessary in the early stages of the game. Prior to kick-off, Neil had been praising Shrewsbury’s defensive record – the third best in League One before yesterday – and stressing that his Sunderland side might have to be patient. Instead, with a lightning-fast start that has not exactly been their modus operandi in recent weeks, the Black Cats established a dominant position with two goals in the opening 13 minutes.
Embleton’s promotion to the starting line-up was a reward for his match-winning intervention in the dying seconds at Oxford, and it did not take long for the Durham-born midfielder to make his mark again.
Embleton was clearly fancying free-kick duties when Flanagan conceded a set-piece just outside the area, but he was outranked by Broadhead. The Everton loanee’s effort cannoned into the wall, but the ball broke to Embleton, who swivelled to hook a sensational first-time half-volley into the top right-hand corner. It was a brilliant finish from a player whose season has not quite gone to plan, but who appears to be hitting top form at the perfect time.
Buoyed by their early breakthrough, Sunderland quickly set about swamping their overrun opponents. Jay Matete and Embleton were dominant at the heart of midfield, Lynden Gooch and Jack Clarke were causing all sorts of problems down their respective flanks, and Dennis Cirkin found himself breaking into a series of dangerous positions whenever he stepped out of the home side’s three-man defence.
It felt like a matter of time before a second goal arrived, and Sunderland duly doubled their lead just 13 minutes in. Cirkin’s break out of defence was key, with the youngster firing in a long-range strike that Shrews goalkeeper Marko Marosi could only parry towards Broadhead.
The striker is clearly brimming with confidence at the moment, and within a flash, he had dispatched a first-time drive past Marosi.
Sunderland almost claimed a third goal before the break when Gooch swept a first-time effort just wide of the far post after the ball broke into his path following a tackle on Broadhead, but to their credit, Shrewsbury gradually steadied the ship and began to threaten themselves.
Ryan Bowman was rightly flagged offside as he turned in George Nurse’s square ball, but the Shrews striker should have done better on the stroke of half-time as he stroked a shot wide of the post after breaking into the left of the area.
That was a warning to the Black Cats defence, but it went unheeded as a sloppy start to the second half saw Sunderland concede within five minutes of the restart.
Shrewsbury’s growing confidence in possession was apparent in the slick passing move that ended with Nurse playing the ball infield, and an unmarked Vela applied a clinical finish, stroking a low first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Suddenly, it was one-way traffic towards the Sunderland goal, and with the hosts unable to stem the flow of the game, Shrewsbury levelled just before the hour mark.
Anthony Patterson kept out Matthew Pennington’s header from a corner, but on his first return to the Stadium of Light since his deadline-day departure in January, Flanagan claimed his first Shrewsbury goal with an unerring first-time volley.
From a position of seemingly impenetrable strength, Sunderland found themselves all at sea, and Neil was forced to sacrifice Embleton in order to bring on Corry Evans in an attempt to restore his side’s midfield dominance.
In fairness, the move worked, with the hosts gradually reasserting themselves in possession, and the Wearsiders came within an inch or two of reclaiming the lead with 18 minutes left. Stewart swooped on the loose ball after Marosi parried Clarke’ initial effort, and after turning neatly in the area, the Scot lashed a well-struck shot against the crossbar.
Sunderland continued to throw balls into the box, and got their reward in the second minute of stoppage time. Marosi got a hand to Broadhead’s header from Clarke’s cross, but was unable to keep the ball out.
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