Fletcher double seals Sunderland a point (From The Advertiser Series)

Fletcher double seals Sunderland a point

5:10pm Saturday 1st September 2012 in Sport By Paul Fraser, Chief Football Writer

Swansea City 2 Sunderland 2 By PAUL FRASER STEVEN FLETCHER'S first two goals in a Sunderland shirt were not enough to secure Sunderland's first Premier League win of the season at the Liberty Stadium.

The £12m buy from Wolves put the Black Cats ahead twice but Swansea City, who also had defender Chico Flores red carded for a high kick on Louis Saha in the second half, pulled level twice.

Much of the drama came in the closing stages of the first half.

Fletcher raced clear to finish neatly after Ashley Williams' error four minutes before the interval and then the Swans levelled two minutes later when Wayne Routledge blasted beyond Simon Mignolet after Michu's clever pass.

But in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the end of the first period – mainly because of a serious knee injury suffered by full-back Neil Taylor – Sunderland edged ahead again.

When a free-kick was awarded for an Angel Rangel handball, Seb Larsson floated the cross to the back post and Fletcher reacted first to force over the line.

But 19 minutes after the restart Swansea, who had looked intent on levelling, got their rewards. This time Michu arrived in the area to nod Jonathan de Guzman's cross down and beyond Mignolet with a powerful header.

That had arrived shortly after Martin O'Neill had gone mad on the touchline when Chico Flores had escaped punishment for a two-footed tackle on James McClean.

But the Spanish defender was not so fortunate when referee Roger East dished out the red card 19 minutes from time when he caught Saha's head near to the touchline after the Frenchman got to the ball first.

That should have been the start of Sunderland's dominance. It wasn't quite like that, though, and in the end Sunderland will be happy to have followed up their draw at Arsenal with a second point in South Wales.

SWANSEA CITY (4-2-3-1): Vorm; Rangel, Chico, Williams, Taylor (Davies 20); Britton, de Guzman; Routledge (Tate 73), Michu (Ki 77), Dyer; Graham. Subs: Tremmel (gk), Schechter, Moore, Agustien. SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Gardner, O'Shea, Cuellar, Colback; Cattermole (Meyler 38), Larsson; Johnson, Sessegnon (Campbell 83), McClean; Fletcher (Saha 67). Subs: Kilgallon, Ji, Bramble, Westwood (gk).