Mackem favours Toon shock! As if our own game hadn’t produced sufficient controversy – however contrived – Malcolm Dawson found reason for disgruntlement elsewhere in the Premier programme. In particular, he berates Andre Marriner for failing to take decisions that would have made the Mags’ task at Goodison even comfier …

There has been much debate on Salut! Sunderland and elsewhere about the circumstances surrounding Lee Cattermole’s sending off at Wigan.
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In the end, it was a disappointing result because, having shot ourselves in a foot now riddled with self-inflicted bullet wounds, we’d put ourselves in a winning position. But to gain a draw when forced to play with 10 men for three quarters of the game, as Pete Sixsmith says in his one-line verdict elsewhere, shows character …

Asamaoh Gyan cost an awful lot of money. He repaid a small chunk of it with a finish of delightful aplomb after magnificent play on the right from Jordan Henderson.
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This posting has now been superseded by Wigan Athletic (0) SAFC (0): Gyan’s magic not quite enough. CLICK HERE

Asamoah Gyan on as a sub and off the mark with a superbly cool finish after Jordan Henderson’s sublime work on the right followed by a great cross. Sadly, despite Simon Mignolet’s great work in our goal, Wigan equalised late when a shot going nowhere was headed past him. Earlier, another depressingly familiar story: Sunderland a player down and needing a backs-to-the-wall second half performance ……

Make immediate allowance for the ridiculous harshness of the first Lee Cattermole booking.

Then remember that a man given the responsibility of Sunderland’s team captaincy is presumably aware that having been booked, he must now take care to avoid rash tackles or general indiscipline.
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The Herita Ilunga soap opera continues. Pete Sixsmith could hardly let it go unremarked in his report of a grim start by Sunderland followed by stirring fightback and lingering controversy …

Well, where to start after a fairly eventful afternoon at The Stadium of Thugs – according to weeping and wailing West Ham fans.

Let’s start with a moderate first half performance that began quite well and then faded badly as the Happy Hammers took what could and should have been a commanding lead.
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Quick post-match thoughts …

Hands up those brave, sportsmanlike West Ham players who spent much of the first half screaming at the referee to issue cards against Sunderland players.

And step forward the man who went down under Kenwyne Jones’s foolish push, clutching his face as if stitches and possibly one of those full facial transplants would be the only feasible remedy? BBC 5 Live said Jones had to go – since you just don’t raise your hands to an opponent, even in retaliation for a bad foul – but that there had been no contact with Herita Ilunga’s face.

This this suggests an unrelated injury, from which I can only hope Mr Ilunga has fully recovered. Let us hope all is well with him.

But just two thoughts: the most rational post-match fan’s report I have so far seen came from a Sunderland supporter who said Andre Marriner’s decision to award a second booking to the West Ham player Robert Kovac was a joke. And shouldn’t screaming at ref in order to get someone shown a red card – whoever does it – be a cautionable offence?

* E-mail from another SAFC fan: the play acting from West Ham, throughout the game, was shocking, a view not
at all shared by Hammers fans (one of whom e-mailed me “Yes but if you
disregard what you call cheating and we don’t, we deserved to win”).

That said Cana should have gone and probably would have had the ref not been
able to watch the video of the Jones dismissal at half time.

Colin Randall