Chris Maguire pounces late to give Sunderland victory over Ipswich

08 February 2020 05:30
It is international fans’ weekend in Sunderland and Saturday saw more than 130 visitors from the club’s 35 overseas supporters’ branches completing long-planned pilgrimages to watch Phil Parkinson’s side. They had travelled from as far afield as Taiwan and Thailand, Australia and North America and Bulgaria and Gibraltar, and they will surely feel their assorted treks were worthwhile after seeing Chris Maguire’s late winner lift Sunderland up to sixth in League One, ahead of Ipswich on goal difference.Like Paul Lambert’s visitors, the Wearsiders are desperate to regain a place in the Championship and the 32,726 crowd was swelled by 2,000 away fans still struggling to fathom how, precisely, it has come to this. What malign forces pulled Sunderland, six times champions of England and resident at a stadium with a capacity of nearly 50,000, down into the third tier? Ipswich – Uefa Cup winners under Sir Bobby Robson’s charge and playing at this level for the first time in 62 years – are similarly desperate to escape these reduced circumstances. Related: Tom Lawrence completes fightback for upwardly mobile Derby against Swansea Continue readingreadfullarticle

Source: TheGuardian