Sunderland 1 Manchester United 2

Apr 12 2009 by James Hunter, Sunday Sun

SUNDERLAND showed they will not give up their Premier League status without a fight as they gave title favourites Manchester United a major scare at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats turned in an impressive performance against the Red Devils, with Kenwyne Jones cancelling out Paul Scholes’ first-half opener, and would have taken a deserved point from the league league leaders but for a fluke goal from super-sub Federico ‘Kiko’ Macheda 15 minutes from time.

With a crucial home game coming up on Saturday against Hull – who lost at Middlesbrough yesterday – a heavy defeat at the hands of Man U would have crushed the morale of players and fans alike and that was the one thing that boss Ricky Sbragia was desperate to avoid.

An upset was always unlikely but the important thing for Sbragia was that his side proved they have the spirit needed to avoid the drop.

And the players did not let him down. They were given a standing ovation by the home fans at full-time after a battling display which left Man U relieved to have got away from Wearside without their stuttering title campaign taking another dent.

And if Sunderland play the same way in their six remaining games, they should drag themselves clear of the drop zone with time to spare.

A fourth defeat in a row, coupled with Newcastle’s draw at Stoke, means fourth-bottom Sunderland’s safety margin has been cut to just two points.

But, with games against Hull and West Brom on the horizon, the Black Cats know that their fate is very much in their own hands.

Sbragia was determined to get a reaction from his side after their limp display in the 2-0 defeat at West Ham last weekend and to that end he made five changes to the side that started at Upton Park and switched to a more attacking 4-4-2 system.

In came Calum Davenport, Carlos Edwards, Teemu Tainio, Andy Reid and Kenwyne Jones at the expense of Tal Ben-Haim, Steed Malbranque, Dean Whitehead, Daryl Murphy and Kieran Richardson.

Of those changes, only the absences of Whitehead and Richardson were forced upon him due to injuries.

Visiting boss Sir Alex Ferguson – no doubt with one eye on the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Porto – also made changes, keeping star turns such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra on the bench. But he did include the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, while Jonny Evans – who spent two loan spells at Sunderland in recent seasons – was passed fit to play and was given a great reception by the home fans.