AstonVilla’s revival continued under new manager Tim Sherwood, as they hammereda lacklustre Sunderland side 4-0 at the Stadium of Light, with thousands of fans streaming out of the stadiumbefore the half-time whistle. Those who remained turned on the Black Cats’ Uruguayan manager, Gus Poyet, and called for his sack.
Villa’sstrike partnership of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke proved lethalfor the Black Cats; the two strikers reunited in attack in a frantic first-half, which saw Villa to acommanding 4-0 lead. The visitors had only scored four Premier League goalsaway from home all season, and this was their first win on the road in threemonths.
The match was the embarrassing one-sided affair, which boughtchallenging circumstances for the home side, as it was over in the 37thminute.
Sunderland,were made to look like a pub team amongst appalling scenes at the start of thesecond-half when Sebastian Larsson did not appear on the pitch, leaving histeammates to kick-off with 10 players. TheSwedish midfielder limped out of the dressing room several minutes later.
Villa wasimpressive in the second half as well and Sherwood was able to bring on their 16year-old striker, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, in the closing stages, for the localBirmingham-born boy’s debut. He became the fourth youngest player to play inthe Premier League.
Villafans will be praising the impact of their manager Sherwood, as his side havenow won back-to-back Premier League games and have advanced to the semi-finals ofthe FA Cup.
They are in 16th, with three points clear of relegation zone.
As for the Black Catsmanager, Gus Poyet, afterreplacing Di Canio in October 2013, Poyet kept Sunderland up last seasonfollowing a miraculous turn around in form, which included ending JoseMourinho’s unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge. However, that momentum has not been replicated this season. The Black Catsare now 17th in the league, with only one win of their last 12league matches, and only one point above the relegation places.
