View From The Away End: A Bitter FA Cup Exit For Sunderland
· Yahoo Sports
One of the (admittedly very minor) drawbacks of Sunderland securing our place back in the top flight has been the lack of new EFL stadia to visit. For any travelling fan, there’s always a sense of satisfaction that comes from ticking another ground off the list, edging ever closer to the fabled 92/92. Thankfully in that regard, Port Vale’s unexpected win over Bristol City meant that a trip to Vale Park was on the cards, for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals no less.
Visit orlando-books.blog for more information.
I’d been told previously that Port Vale was a similar experience to Stoke away, but even more difficult to get to and even less welcoming. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but there would at least be a whiff of nostalgia from visiting a League One venue, but this time as a Premier League side, and without the previous sense of shame over our club having sunk to such a level.
Or so we thought…
I could probably write everything I knew beforehand about Port Vale on one hand, but from the top of my head I remembered that they’re the only side in the top four divisions to have won against every other side, and that Robbie Williams supports them. They also have a Newcastle fan in their ranks, who was calling for Geordies to attend and help fill out the home stands. I’m half expecting to read about Boris Johnson’s sixth attempt at a Brexit deal being rejected in the papers, because it’s really starting to feel like 2019.
There was a strong contingent of London Branch regulars on the train out from Euston for this one. However, the early warning signs that this might not be our day appeared when our train was delayed half an hour before eventually being cancelled altogether at Milton Keynes. Delay Repay seemed insufficient compensation here, but at least we weren’t the lad who’d just flown 14 hours from Malaysia who eventually fell asleep on his suitcase. After a much-delayed journey stood in the vestibule of the next Pendolino, there was scarcely time for a quick pre-match pint at The Glebe – a decent boozer where we were the only customers – before a quick Uber to the ground.
Vale Park absolutely ticked all the boxes for a trip down memory lane. The muddy entrances, the old-school turnstiles and the adjacent training pitches that looked like far better playing surfaces than the one in the ground were all present and correct. The 3,000-strong away end were in good voice as we kicked off in blue attacking the opposite end.
It didn’t take long for us to realise that this would not be a smooth afternoon. The atrocious condition of the pitch meant that most passes we attempted along the deck bounced chaotically, forcing us into a battle of long balls that we seemed ill-equipped to win in the absence of a real target man. O’Nien’s spectacular passback that forced Ellborg to head the ball over the bar for a corner pretty much summed up our performance. I love Luke as much as every other SAFC fan, but the grin on his face afterwards really wasn’t well-received given how much we were floundering in one of our biggest games in years.
Vale took the lead soon after as we failed to deal with a set-piece, because of course we did. It was the boyhood Newcastle fan who scored it, and he gleefully celebrated in front of our end, because of course he did. This afternoon brought back dark memories of those years where this kind of humiliation was an almost weekly occurrence, and the away end sat in stunned silence at half-time.
Hopes for a strong second half response were quickly checked as Ellborg was fortunate to avoid a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity. There was a marginal improvement from what was a very low bar in the first half, but we failed to meaningfully test the Vale defence, and Xhaka’s introduction with 12 minutes to go was far too late to wrestle back control of the game. The final whistle went and the home fans celebrated deliriously, and you couldn’t blame them, as we were left to reflect on one of the worst days in the club’s recent history.
Of course, this result can’t and shouldn’t detract from the great work that the management and squad have done this season. But this was a really bitter pill to swallow, and will go down alongside the infamous weakened team at Hull in the annals of missed opportunities for this club. With nine league games remaining, we need to hope that the Lads can finish the season strongly and go some way towards compensating for this miserable afternoon.