Share

Swansea trump Sunderland

Sunderland - The form which saw Sunderland surge to survival at the end of the Premier League season deserted them on the final day as they slumped to a 3-1 home defeat to Swansea on Sunday.

They clawed themselves back from almost certain relegation with four weeks to go after manager Gus Poyet claimed they needed divine intervention to stay up.

Having seen them secure safety with an impressive run of 12 points out of 12, after taking just 12 from their previous 14 games, Poyet allowed his men to take their foot off the pedal.

But they showed all their earlier season inconsistency and it was a case of business as usual at the Stadium of Light.

They were 2-0 down inside 13 minutes and never really recovered.

Nathan Dyer's left foot shot after being put through by Wayne Routledge, set the ball rolling after six minutes and Marvin Eames doubled their lead seven minutes later with a similar strike after good work from Wilfried Bony.

Sunderland struggled but finally found the net four minutes into the second half as Italian striker Fabio Borini headed home Adam Johnson's corner, but Bony restored the visitors' two-goal cushion four minutes later.

For Swansea manager Garry Monk, given a vote of confidence by the board to carry on in charge next season, it meant a respectable 12th place finish, two places and four points above Sunderland.

It also saw the Welsh side complete a double over the Wearsiders, their 4-0 win at the Liberty Stadium earlier in the season marking Poyet's first game in charge of a demoralised and ragged squad still reeling form Paolo di Canio's disastrous, but short-lived tenure.

The 45,000 fans who packed into the ground to celebrate another season of top-flight football will have gone home happy despite the defeat, and Poyet can look forward to the promised rebuilding job over the summer break.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE