Johnson salvages vital point

Super-sub Johnson leaves it late for stuttering City

Last updated: 14th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Johnson salvages vital point

Jones: Scored the opening goal

Man of the match: Craig Gordon kept City at bay for most of the match until he was undone by a peach in stoppage time

Moment of the match: Jones going off injured which disrupted Sunderland after they had dominated the first half.

Attempt of the match: Jones trying to lob Shay Given from the halfway line which never troubled the City keeper.

Save of the match: Gordon's point-blank save in the second half to deny Tevez from Bellamy's byline cross.

Goal of the game: Adam Johnson's inch-perfect left-footed curler into the top corner.

Talking point: Can City finish in fourth place? Will Sunderland now be safe from relegation?

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Adam Johnson secured a dramatic 1-1 draw for Manchester City with a superb late equaliser against Sunderland.

Substitute Johnson, who turned down a move to the Stadium of Light in the January transfer window, curled in a precise left-footed strike from the corner of the City area in added time to earn a vital point for Roberto Mancini's UEFA Champions League-chasing side.

A Kenwyne Jones header after nine minutes had put Sunderland within touching distance of their second victory in a week, until Johnson, who recently joined City from Middlesbrough, netted in the 91st minute.

Sunderland took the lead when Steed Malbranque curled a right-footed cross onto the head of Jones, who gave City goalkeeper Shay Given no chance with a superb header.

Craig Bellamy, Shaun Wright Phillips and Carlos Tevez all forced good saves from Black Cats goalkeeper Craig Gordon in the second period.

Sunderland were within seconds of clinching back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since December 2008, a run of 48 games, until Johnson salvaged a point for City to put them within two points of fourth-placed Tottenham.

Majestic

The home side got their noses in front within nine minutes when Jones rose majestically to power in a header from Malbranque's pinpoint cross, and rarely looked like surrendering their lead as a City side packed with expensively-acquired attacking talent drastically under achieved.

Their dominance was all the more impressive as Bruce, who has only just started to enjoy a little respite from the injury crisis which has blighted his defenders in recent months, found himself short of midfielders.

Lee Cattermole's lingering hamstring problems and Lorik Cana's suspension left him with Kieran Richardson, who has himself been struggling with a calf injury, and largely untried youngster David Meyler as a central pairing.

However, both men seemed to be galvanised by the challenge of meeting Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry head on as the Black Cats took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Jones was a constant threat, as was the pace of leading scorer Darren Bent, while wide men Malbranque and Fraizer Campbell made life distinctly uncomfortable for Micah Richards and Wayne Bridge, who was replaced by striker Roque Santa Cruz with 33 minutes gone.

The Paraguayan's introduction added his goalscoring prowess to a side which already included Tevez, Bellamy and Wright-Phillips.

However, none of the four saw enough of the ball to do any real damage with Sunderland defending tigerishly, and it was Barry who came closest to restoring parity with a 31st-minute snapshot which whistled inches wide of the post.

Reshuffle

Sunderland were forced into a reshuffle at the break when Jones failed to re-appear and was replaced by midfielder Jordan Henderson, who took over from Campbell wide on the right as he joined Bent in attack.

But whatever Mancini had said to his players at the break seemed to have done the trick as they returned in determined fashion.

Three times inside the opening seven minutes of the half, Gordon had to make vital saves, keeping out efforts from Santa Cruz, Wright-Phillips and Bellamy in quick succession after being left exposed by his defenders.

Barry and Meyler earned themselves a ticking-off from referee Chris Foy after an angry confrontation off the ball, and the temperature was rising all the time.

Mancini replaced his other starting full-back, Richards, with Patrick Vieira with 64 minutes gone, but it was Bellamy and Tevez who almost dragged his side back into it with 20 minutes remaining.

The Welshman drilled in a low cross from the right which the Argentinian prodded towards goal, only for Gordon to block with his legs from point-blank range.

Bellamy might have equalised himself twice inside the last 10 minutes, but lost out in one-on-one battles with the Black Cats goalkeeper on both occasions.

But there was nothing the Scot could do to keep out Johnson at the death, the former Middlesbrough winger curling a long-range effort high over his out-stretched arm into the top corner to snatch two points from Sunderland's grasp.

SunderlandTeam StatisticsManchester City
1Goals1
11st Half Goals0
4Shots on Target8
6Shots off Target4
5Blocked Shots5
3Corners7
12Fouls12
2Offsides3
2Yellow Cards4
0Red Cards0
65.6Passing Success68.3
30Tackles19
63.3Tackles Success63.2
45.1Possession54.9
51.5Territorial Advantage48.5

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