Portsmouth 3 Sunderland 1 Guest blogger Josh Allen
Sunderland threw away another opportunity to guarantee Premier League survival last night, after letting a 1-0 lead slip at Fratton Park.
The result puts the Black Cats in serious danger of Premier League relegation. They are now just two points clear of the drop zone and face a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
If Sunderland are to go down it will be due to an awful run of form that has seen them pick up just 5 points from a possible 36. They have won just once in the last 3 months and that came against a Hull side in a similar state of free fall.
Momentum and confidence are two of the most crucial aspects of football. Sunderland currently possess neither and last night's game merely demonstrated how difficult it is to turn the tide. Despite Kenwyne Jones getting the opener early in the second half, the visitors were unable to build on their advantage. Their lead lasted barely a minute and shortly afterwards Portsmouth were ahead, following a calamity of errors culminating in a Phil Bardsley own goal.
To Sunderland's credit they didn't give in to the football odds and completely give up but it was simply not to be their day. Given the path that the game had taken, its ending was almost inevitable - Jones missed a great opportunity to equalise and moments later the ball was in the net at the other end courtesy of Armand Traore.
After the game, manager Ricky Sbragia was keen to put a positive spin on proceedings, telling BBC Sport: “it has always been in our hands and we know what is required on Sunday.” The fact is, he also knew what was required last night – a win would have secured their safety with a game to spare. Unfortunately for Sunderland, knowing and doing are two very different things.
