Sunderland Derby Performance Proves Cats can Survive

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Sunderland Derby Performance Proves Cats can Survive

Paolo Di Canio looks to have inspired a survival instinct in Sunderland after the Black Cats rose triumphant in the North East derby on Sunday, thumping Newcastle 3-0 to move three points clear of the drop zone.

The new boss has had an eventful couple of weeks since his arrival on Wearside – the media focusing more on previous sound bites than his managerial ability – but finally this week he got down to business after overseeing a promising performance away at Chelsea.

Despite the result at Stamford Bridge, an unlucky 2-1 defeat, Sunday’s derby was Di Canio’s baptism of fire and the manager came through unscathed after directing his team to victory at St James’ for the first time in 13 years.

And what a victory it was. Stephane Sessegnon got the ball rolling with a neat first-half strike into the bottom corner that sent Di Canio and his coaching staff celebrating like they’d won the FA Cup on the sidelines.

A little bit of luck earned them a reprieve when Papiss Cisse’s goal was wrongly ruled out for offside and, as the game progressed and Newcastle pressed for an equaliser, gaps started to appear in the home defence.

On 74 minutes, Adam Johnson’s superb effort beat Tim Krul for 2-0 before David Vaughn scored possibly the goal of Sunderland’s season and wrap up the points late on.

It was not simply the fact Sunderland beat Newcastle so emphatically on their own turf that has inspired fans to back Di Canio’s men in the Premier League relegation betting, it was their committed and commanding performance with the ball that spoke volumes.

Under former boss, Martin O’Neill, Sunderland were panicky and lacked consideration when in possession but on Sunday they looked every bit a top-10 side.

According to the odds on Betfair, Di Canio still has a lot of work to do if Sunderland are to avoid relegation but one huge hurdle has been jumped here and the Black Cats should find points easier to come by now.