Sunderland v Coventry 21/09/96 3.00Sunderland (0) 1 Coventry (0) 0 FT Agnew 51 Premiership newcomers Sunderland piled the pressure on struggling Coventry courtesy of their first home win of the season. A Steve Agnew blockbuster on 51 minutes settled a dour struggle and but for the brilliance of Steve Ogrizovic the home side would have won by a more convincing margin. The Blues goalkeeper denied Paul Bracewell and Craig Russell with fine saves, but was powerless to prevent Agnew from giving Sunderland the three points they deserved. The Wearsiders were forced to overcome the loss of giant striker Niall Quinn after 39 minutes, but Russell proved to be a lively substitute. Last season's leading scorer led the Coventry defence a merry dance, but was guilty of squandering two clear-cut chances in the latter stages as the visitors pressed hard for an equaliser. Noel Whelan had a 75th minute header ruled out for offside, while Tony Coton twice came to the rescue of his side in the closing moments. The Sunderland keeper turned a Gary McAllister close-range shot over the bar and in injury time saved a point-blank header from Dion Dublin. However, if both sides are to avoid becoming embroiled in a season-long relegation battle, it is clear they will have to step up their scoring output. 
Sunderland: Coton, Hall, Scott, Melville, Ord, Agnew, Bracewell, Ball, Gray, Quinn (Russell, 39), Stewart. Subs not used: Perez, Smith, Rae, Howey. Booked: Scott. Coventry: Ogrizovic, Shaw (Jess, 68), Burrows, Daish (Hall, 57), Richardson, Whelan, Dublin, McAllister, Salako, Telfer, Borrows. Subs not used: O'Neill, Ducros, Filan. Booked: Telfer, Daish. Attendance: 19,459. Referee: M A Riley (Leeds). |
