Fortuna Sittard 3 Sunderland 2
August 8th 2000
Report from safc.com
SUNDERLAND's
search for a pre-season win goes on but Peter Reid's men only had
themselves to blame after pressing the self-destruct button in their
Holland opener.
The Black Cats came from behind to put themselves firmly in the
driving seat with little more than 20 minutes to go against Fortuna
Sittard, but sloppy defending cost them.
Chris Makin,
who scored his first Sunderland goal at Tottenham on the last day of
last season, cancelled out Ruud Kool's 16th minute opener to put Reid's
men level in the 39th minute.
And when Danny Dichio put Sunderland in front in the 57th minute there looked to be only one outcome.
But
a mixture of missed chances and sloppy defending meant Sunderland came
away with nothing for the third time in four pre-season games. Reid
handed a 90-minute trial to Rennes striker Cedric Bardon and he
impressed alongside Dichio, the Frenchman twice going close to getting
his name on the
scoresheet.
The Sunderland
boss, without a number of key players through injury, including
first-choice strikers Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, opted to play
Darren Holloway in the middle of midfield and he was the Black Cats'
most impressive performer.
Sittard, who beat Derby
County on the same ground three days earlier, went in front in the 16th
minute through Kool's direct free-kick. But Sunderland will feel
aggrieved by how easily the effort evaded their two-man wall and
sneaked past Thomas Sørensen at the near post.
The away
side, however, hit back in style just before the interval and they had
Kevin Kilbane to thank for the goal. The Republic of Ireland winger,
who was always involved in the game, weaved past four defenders before
forcing a good reaction stop from Sittard keeper Mark Zegers. Makin
raced in at the far post to do the rest.
Dichio should
have registered before his glancing header - again set up by Kilbane -
beat Zegers at the far post. The former QPR man was sent clear by Don
Hutchison but miscued his shot from close range.
Sunderland
were in control in the second half, with the Dutch side struggling to
cope with their slick passing. And when Dichio put the Black Cats in
front - then missed two good chances to extend the lead - the victory
looked a formality.
But a good goal from Sittard
frontman Dennis Gerritsen changed the picture and, just after trialist
Bardon had flashed a deflected effort inches wide for Sunderland,
Gerritsen grabbed a second to floor Reid's men.
In
fact, Paul Butler, who had blasted a shot just over the bar in the 65th
minute, headed against the bar in injury time as Sunderland desperately
searched for an equaliser.
Despite the defeat the
Wearsiders looked sharp against the Dutch top-flight outfit who were
playing their last pre-season friendly before their league campaign
starts against Ajax later this month.
Fortuna Sittard:
Zegers, Geerinckx, Volmer, Roest, Hermans, van der Hoeven, Landerl,
Kool, Gerritsen, van Barneveld, Haeldermans.
Sunderland: Sørensen; Makin, Varga, Butler, Gray; Hutchison, Roy (T. Butler 78), Holloway, Kilbane; Dichio (Kyle 73), Bardon.
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