SOBS: SWANS

As fans from around the globe converged on SR5, the Lads welcomed Swansea and... didn't turn up, despite having 65% of the possession. I don't think Swansea really deserved to win, but if you put away one of the two shots on target that you have, you probably do. In the polar opposite of our dramatic comeback win in Wales, the Swans recorded their fourth consecutive win at our place thanks to a sort of scrambled second half goal from a contentious free kick.

With playoffs confirmed after Tuesday's results, we're in a sort of limbo: we can't finish below sixth (or somewhere higher - ask an accountant) so all we have to wonder about is who we'll be paired with when the semis come around. A combination of our results and those of Boro, Coventry, Bristol City, and anyone else you care to mention will determine that, so let's just build momentum. Of course, there's also the need to get Le Fee up to speed and not break him again, to keep others injury-free, and give time to others in case they're needed. Even Huggins and Alese might manage an appearance, while Jayden Danns has just cemented his place in the SAFC top ten unfortunate signings by being injured for the whole of his loan period. How very Sunderland.

Strange times indeed.

Suitably stocked up with exotic scotch eggs from Bishop Food Festival (where the county's team were far better represented - see grandchild reference below - than them up the road), but without the flat cap (which is hopefully at the Arriva lost property office), off we went as usual, safe in the knowledge that Trai's family namesake had already chosen his Sunderland shirt for the day. As we listened to The Daintees (not live, but a marvellous blast from the past) in a surprisingly quiet Ship Isis, the team news came in...

Patterson

Browne Mepham O'Nien Hume

Neil (c) Rigg

Roberts Jones Watson

Isidor

... and a bench of Moore, Mayenda, Samed, Le Fee, Aleksic, Hjelde, Anderson, Lavery, and Bainbridge.

A first start for young Jones, who's looked comfortable when given a few minutes recently, as part of an obvious plan to give experience to as many players as possible ahead of the playoffs. We faced south, they kicked off, the sun went in, and the slightly dull meteorological conditions seemed to be taken as a sign by the players of both sides as they produced 48 minutes of the dullest football I've seen this season. I know neither side has much to play for, but a corner apiece, a shot on target apiece (neither of which brought heroics from the keepers) was scant reward for the fans. The ref was very keen on stopping play when a Swan went down - which they did, quite often - and he seemed positively chuffed when Jones and a Swan needed treatment. Our Lad needed a new shirt (give him one with Phillips on the back) and we ground out the half, with the three added minutes, as the fans headed for pies and pints. I'm not sure that Rigg had touched the ball more than twice.

Please, Regis, get them telt to just get it over halfway and THEN faff about with it, rather than have Patto take three passes before giving it short to Hume or Mepham.

No changes (as ever) and it continued as the first half, with neither side playing much football and their number 8 spending more time in his backside than his feet. Twelve minutes in, what looked like a decent tackle by Watson was adjudged a foul, they swung it in and it seemed to come off both Patto and the bar before it was knocked into the net.

Off went Jones and Rigg, replaced by Mayenda and Le Fee (wrist bandages included) and when the latter played it to Neil, who set Issy away, there was no 'play on' when it would have been the right thing to do. In 68 Roberts cut inside and eventually got it to Le Fee, and the pass to Mayenda won us a corner, which was cleared. Five minutes later, a pull on Isidor that would have seen red in the Prem only brought a yellow, just to give us something to get worked up about.

Neil (always a bad sign when he leaves the field) and Watson made way for Samed and Aleksic. Their keeper tried the sitty down business but the ref was having none of it, waving the cheating get to his feet. Le Fee hit a free into the wall, Hume went to the left when Hjelde replaced Browne, and we had a bit of a go. Just a bit, mind, with Issy having a header tipped over and Mayenda having a decent shout for a penalty (honest). In the four added minutes Patto came up for a corner and hung around for a while, but to no avail.

Dismal, really.

Man of the Match? Le Fee was elegant as usual, Samed looked decent in his limited time, and Neil was sort of ok. Probably Roberts for coming close to setting something up, but please choose your own.