I HAVE to be honest. I only decided to take my son Ethan too the game at the last minute. I am very pleased that I did! This was a very entertaining cup tie with two fully committed teams who really wanted the win, writes Paul Howard of Lostock.

In attack Petrov had an excellent game. When he plays well we look very good going forward. It was also excellent to see Sordell get a chance. It was his chasing/closing down that led to the first goal. He also scored a very good header early in the second half. Hopefully this game will give him the confidence boost he so badly needs.

Defensively I think we should stick with Sam Ricketts and Zat Knight. Sam reads the game very well and Zat headed everything thrown into the box. I should also add that Andy Lonergan had an excellent game making at least 3 world class saves.

It was a real shame Joe Riley had to go off and I hope he gets back soon after making a good start to this game. I am still of the opinion Tyrone Mears is not good enough. He cannot cross a ball and doesn’t show the required level of desire to do so. I would add that Keith Andrews still doesn’t impress me. He has a poor touch and the ball keeps bouncing of him. He also cannot make a decent forward pass.

Overall Sunderland had their fantastic away support to thank. They made the difference especially when they got the first goal back. The Reebok had only 7000 home fans that barely made a noise apart from celebrating the goals which does have an impact to the team. However, from an entertainment perspective I would give this game 10 out of 10. There are not many times I could say that this season!