Played
July 17, 2011 2:00 PM BST
Schuco Arena, Bielefeld
July 17, 2011 2:00 PM BST
Schuco Arena, Bielefeld
Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 Sunderland: Sessegnon hits second-half equaliser as O'Shea limps off during pre-season draw
3. Liga side take the lead against Premier League's Black Cats but Bruce's men salvage draw through Sessegnon goal despite new signing O'Shea limping off with injury
By Laurie Bonne
Getty Images
Sunderland battled back from a goal behind to claim a draw in Sunday's pre-season friendly against Bielefeld Arminia at the Schuco Arena with Stephane Sessegnon on the scoresheet as the game finished 1-1 at full-time.
The Black Cats, captained by Lee Catermole, struggled to get a foothold in the game in the early exchanges as Arminia saw more of the ball, while not creating any major chances of note.
Sunderland came into the game more as the first half wore on, but it was the hosts who created the first major chance of the game when, on 32 minutes, a cross from the left was close to being converted by Markus Schuler
The main talking point of the half, and indeed the game, occurred in the 34th minute, when recent signing John O’Shea went down with a knock. While his injury looked fairly innocuous, Steve Bruce did not seem to want to take any risks with his new recruit, and sent on Anton Ferdinand to replace him at the heart of the Black Cats' defence.
Steve Bruce chose to bring on dangerman Sessegnon and new signing Connor Wickham for the second half, and his side started the second period in a much brighter fashion than the first.
Indeed, the Premier League side came close to finding the back of the net close to the hour mark as Cattermole fed Wickham whose low shot was stopped by Patrick Platins.
But it was the 3. Liga German side who took the lead in the 63rd minute when Michael Turner was penalised for pushing in the box from a corner. Eric Agyemang took the penalty and sent Simon Mignolet the wrong way from the spot to put the Germans into the lead.
Sunderland were not behind for long, however, and salvaged a draw when a Sebastian Larsson corner in the 72nd minute found Turner, whose flick was met by Sessegnon to fire home from four yards and spare Steve Bruce's side's blushes against their lower league opposition.
The Black Cats, captained by Lee Catermole, struggled to get a foothold in the game in the early exchanges as Arminia saw more of the ball, while not creating any major chances of note.
Sunderland came into the game more as the first half wore on, but it was the hosts who created the first major chance of the game when, on 32 minutes, a cross from the left was close to being converted by Markus Schuler
The main talking point of the half, and indeed the game, occurred in the 34th minute, when recent signing John O’Shea went down with a knock. While his injury looked fairly innocuous, Steve Bruce did not seem to want to take any risks with his new recruit, and sent on Anton Ferdinand to replace him at the heart of the Black Cats' defence.
Steve Bruce chose to bring on dangerman Sessegnon and new signing Connor Wickham for the second half, and his side started the second period in a much brighter fashion than the first.
Indeed, the Premier League side came close to finding the back of the net close to the hour mark as Cattermole fed Wickham whose low shot was stopped by Patrick Platins.
But it was the 3. Liga German side who took the lead in the 63rd minute when Michael Turner was penalised for pushing in the box from a corner. Eric Agyemang took the penalty and sent Simon Mignolet the wrong way from the spot to put the Germans into the lead.
Sunderland were not behind for long, however, and salvaged a draw when a Sebastian Larsson corner in the 72nd minute found Turner, whose flick was met by Sessegnon to fire home from four yards and spare Steve Bruce's side's blushes against their lower league opposition.
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