Boss: We tried everything!
Ahmed Elmohamady gets Sunderland going forward against Manchester United
HAVING failed to beat old boss Sir Alex Ferguson fair and square on the previous 15 occasions the two have met as managers, Steve Bruce joked he’d resorted to darker methods..
“It’s difficult to see what more we can do,” he smiled, after watching Sunderland dominate Saturday’s Stadium of Light match.
“We even sabotaged their toilets before the game this time!”
Ferguson refused to use the burst pipe which flooded the away dressing room as an excuse to explain United’s lacklustre performance.
He preferred instead to praise the quality of Sunderland’s efforts and Bruce was glad about that.
“Sir Alex was very complimentary of us, which was nice to hear, because I thought we deserved credit for the way we played,” said the Sunderland boss.
“With a bit of luck, we might have won and it’s been like that for a few weeks now.
“However, if I’m going to be critical, I would say that having created plenty of chances, we have to make sure we take one or two of them.
“You don’t get many against the big teams, which makes it all the more important to make the most of your openings.”
Most observers agreed that Steed Malbranque was Sunderland’s stand-out performer, although summer signings Ahmed Elmohamady and Titus Bramble could not have been far behind in a terrific effort from the whole team.
“It’s difficult to pick out individuals,” said Bruce.
“But what’s most pleasing to me is the way that we’ve taken the ball and taken the game to them.
“We came within a minute of beating them last year at Old Trafford and we might easily have beaten them in this game.
“So I’m happy with that, though I thought we were facing them at the right time – I always think the best time to get the big teams is when they’ve played away in Europe.
“But you still have to perform, too.
“And I thought we did.
“It’s not often Man U have to change their system because of the way you’re playing, but that’s what they were forced to do.”
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Weather for Sunderland
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: West
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