“Great fighting spirit from the boys. Thanks for the amazing support from the fans today, everyone helped to get those three points. Let’s keep going together!”
The above is a post on X made by City first team coach Narcis Pelach last Saturday evening and it reflects another excellent atmosphere at Carrow Road.
How sad, therefore, that a small number of people decided to latch onto a minor incident involving a handful of fans in the South Stand and Kenny McLean expressing their frustrations to each other to lecture others on how they should go about supporting the club.
Earlier in the season when the football was awful and fans felt disengaged, the same people were moaning about a lack of atmosphere, but now, with fans metaphorically kicking every ball, it appears they are in the wrong again.
There was plenty of frustration on Saturday and it was inevitable that the tension both in the stands and on the pitch would manifest itself, but for me that’s a positive because it shows that people care, which is infinitely preferable to the apathy of the pre-Christmas period.
Sunderland were well organised, hard to break down and showed little desire to commit men forward, but despite some periods of ponderous build-up that brought back unhappy memories of the autumn version of City, the Canaries were able to get the job done.
There was also an amusing sub-plot in that Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien had made great play of how he had wound up Jacob Sorensen in last year’s home defeat to the Black Cats by kissing him after the pair engaged in a tussle in front of the Barclay.
However, the Dane clearly has a long memory because within a minute of coming on as a substitute he had left O’Nien in a heap in the middle of the pitch. It might have cost him a yellow card, but it must have been immensely satisfying.
The performance on Saturday wasn’t pretty, but it’s the result that matters and it set City up for Wednesday night’s game perfectly, a situation that improved further with Hull dropping points on Tuesday.
The concern was that City have been a very different animal away from home, yet for half and hour they were in total control against an awful Middlesbrough side, but once again they found a way to throw away a position of dominance.
In this case it was another piece of petulance from Borja Sainz, who had no need whatsoever to raise his feet at Jonny Howson and give the referee a decision to make. It was one of the softest reds I’ve seen, and particularly galling in that Luke Ayling’s earlier two-footed lunge hadn’t even generated a yellow, but I understand why it was given.
Howson certainly made the most of it, earning torrents of abuse from City fans, but does anyone realistically think that had the situation been reversed a City player wouldn’t have done the same thing? Sadly, that sort of exaggerated reaction has become part and parcel of modern football.
However, what is much more concerning is the way in which City crumbled after the sending off. Huddersfield were able to hold Leeds at bay for a whole half with 10 men at the weekend, yet City lasted just seven minutes before giving away an awful goal and then repeating the trick just before half-time.
We are at a stage of the season where mental strength is vital, and there are real questions marks around how mentally resilient Wagner’s side actually are when under serious pressure.
Wednesday’s result in itself doesn’t mean City can’t make the top six, but with 10 games to go, and probably six wins needed, they need to get over it quickly. As for the fans, all we can do is get behind the players and hope for the best.
