LUKE O’NIEN found a novel way of getting himself booked.
The Sunderland star, 28, was in action against Bristol City on Saturday, when he was shown a yellow card for stopping Alex Scott on the break.
But, rather than a shirt pull or a trip – O’Nien hitched a ride on his opponent’s back as he raced away.
Better still, he then planted a kiss on Scott’s face to calm the situation down.
Scott saw the funny side, but that didn’t stop referee Gavin Ward from brandishing a yellow card from his pocket.
The Black Cats looked like they were on their way to three points when Jack Clarke gave them the lead with a stunning strike after 59 minutes.
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However, in stoppage time Nahki Wells steadied his nerves and fired home from the penalty spot to earn the visitors a point.
The draw sees Sunderland remain in the playoff picture in fifth place – level on points with sixth place Millwall and seventh spot Blackburn Rovers.
Automatic promotion seems unlikely, with second-placed Sheffield United 12 points clear.
Despite dropping two points at home, Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray was keen to focus on the positives.
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“When Jack whacked that one in I thought we’d get over the line but we have to accept the penalty, put the point in the bag and move on,” he said.
“If we’d said at the start of the week that we’d get seven points, including another trip to London which was our third in ten days, we’d have probably taken that.
“It was just another challenge for our young team and generally we handled it well, other teams are allowed to attack us and have a game plan, that’s football.
“We just couldn’t quite see it over the line. It’s a good experience for us.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
