Everton pick up another win thanks to a Ross Barkley goal at Dundee United. A Matt Etherington penalty is enough for Stoke to see off Sion, while both West Brom and Sunderland suffer narrow losses after spurning plenty of chances to find the net:
Seongnam 1 Sunderland 0
Martin O’Neill’s side slipped to defeat in their opening match of the Peace Cup. The Black Cats’ opponents are already midway through their domestic campaign and their superior fitness told in the end, though Sunderland can consider themselves somewhat unlucky after hitting the woodwork three times. O’Neill started with Titus Bramble and Michael Turner at centre-half, with Wes Brown at right-back, though the club’s official website singled out debut boy Carlos Cuellar (who looks a strong cut-option at 4.5 in FPL and 4.8 in the Sky Sports game) as their most impressive defender, after the former Villa man was handed his chance just after the hour mark. Fraizer Campbell and Connor Wickham led the line in a 4-4-2; the latter was handed 90 minutes and hit the post – as did Kieran Richardson – while a Craig Gardner free-kick rattled the bar. Despite their attacking endeavours, though, the Black Cats couldn’t find the net and sank to a somewhat undeserved defeat.
Sunderland Starting XI: Mignolet, Wes Brown (Blair Adams 72), Titus Bramble (Carlos Cuellar 61), Michael Turner, Jack Colback, David Meyler, Lee Cattermole (C), Craig Gardner, Kieran Richardson (Roarie Deacon 72), Fraizer Campbell (Ryan Noble 79), Connor Wickham.
Dundee United 0 Everton 1
David Moyes fielded a strong looking first XI for the trip to Dundee United as the Toffees scraped a narrow win in a rather uninspiring match. First-team regulars such as Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin, Phil Neville and Leon Osman all started from the off, while Jack Rodwell made his second successive appearance before making way for Marouane Fellaini at the break. Leon Osman impressed again after a strong display at the weekend against Morecambe, while Seamus Coleman’s right-flank raids tormented the Tangerines time and again – indeed, the latter had a hand in the game’s only goal, teeing up sub Ross Barkley to notch a late, late winner as Moyes’ men made it two pre-season wins out of two so far.
Everton Starting XI: Howard; Hibbert, Neville, Distin, Duffy; Coleman, Rodwell (Fellaini 46), Junior (Barkley 54), Osman; Anichebe(Garbutt) McAleny (Vellios).
Sion 0 Stoke 1
The Potters racked up a narrow win in the Swiss village of Saxon in front of just 200 fans last night. Tony Pulis gave Asmir Begovic and Thomas Sorenson 45 minutes apiece between the sticks, while Ryan Shotton got the nod ahead of Andy Wilkinson in the right-back slot in a match that saw as many as 20 players given game time. With Jonathan Walters still unavailable after his Euro 2012 duties, Kenwyne Jones partnered Peter Crouch, though it was Cameron Jerome – on as a second-half sub for the latter – who was the visitors most threatening attacking player, according to the reports. Left-back Marc Wilson came close to netting early on, while Matt Etherington sealed an impressive individual display by slotting home the winner from the spot late on in the first half.
Stoke Starting XI: Begovic (Sorensen 46); Shotton (Wilkinson 50), Upson (Collins 50), Shawcross (Huth 50), Wilson (Higginbotham 50); Delap, Whitehead (Arismendi (57), Palacios (Tonge 57); Etherington (Pennant 46), Crouch (Jerome 57), Jones.
Malmo 1 West Brom 0
The Baggies fell to defeat in Steve Clarke’s first match in charge but the result was something of an injustice, with the visitors in the ascendancy for the vast majority of the match. With the club’s Euro 2012 competitors still unavailable, Clarke opted for a mixture of youth and experience and, rolling out a 4-4-2 formation, handed Marc-Antoine Fortune a starting role alongside Peter Odemwingie up front. After his side went behind in eight minutes, the Nigerian – who was also on free-kicks – had plenty of chances to equalise before being replaced by debutant Yassine El Ghanassy midway through the second-half, while Graham Dorrans was a major attacking threat for the Baggies in a central midfield role. Liam Ridgewell also came close to scoring from a Dorrans corner after coming on as a sub at half-time but Clarke’s men paid for their profligacy as their Swedish hosts held out for the win.
West Brom Starting XI: Myhill; Jones, Tamas, McAuley, (Reid 63), Hurst; Jara (Ridgewell 46), Mulumbu (Mantom 63), Dorrans (Mantom 70), Roofe (Morrison 46); Fortune (Berahino 63), Odemwingie (El Ghanassy 70).
