If the four goals of the Sunderland vs. West Bromwich Albion match had been spread out over more than 22 minutes of football, we might have had a fascinating game on our hands at the Stadium of Light. Instead, we had a manic spell followed by a period that could never really compare, as West Brom went up by two very early, Sunderland fought back and then the game fizzed out.
Sunderland Vs. West Bromwich Albion, 2011 Premier League: Crazy First Half Spell Leads to 2-2 Draw
It took all of five minutes for Sunderland to go 2-0 down at home, prompting several calls for Steve Bruce's head following James Morrison nodding home from a corner and then a comedy ricochet in midfield releasing Shane Long to slip past Simon Mingolet all of sixty seconds later. It would have been very easy for a Sunderland team that's struggled badly all season to collapse at this point (if they hadn't already) but instead they fought back, claiming a goal through a deflected strike by on-loan striker Nicklas Bendtner and then immediately going level via the unmarked head of Ahmed Elmohamedy.
It was an unexpected comeback, but the Black Cats couldn’t do much having hauled their way back into the game. There was some interesting back-and-forth football, but a tthe end of the day both teams seemed pretty happy to settle for the 2-2 draw.
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