Sunderland took all three points from their trip to Pride Park, but the Black Cats cannot believe they had to scrape a 1-0 win after a perfectly fine goal was disallowed.
A first-half strike from star of the show Eliezer Mayenda was ultimately enough to secure the win for Sunderland away from home, but it could and should have been a more comfortable night for Regis Le Bris’ men.
In the second half, with Derby pressing for an equaliser, the Black Cats had the ball in the back of the net once more thanks to Wilson Isidor’s finish, after a long ball from Jobe Bellingham and a knock-down by Enzo Le Fee.
However, in an extremely confusing turn of events, the goal was ruled out, despite no flag from the assistant referee for offside, and no signal of foul-play from referee, Sam Allison.
Wilson Isidor’s goal should not have been ruled out
Based on footage of the incident, Isidor was clearly not offside when Jobe Bellingham played the ball over. It could be argued there is a slight handball (though accidental) in the build-up from Le Fee, and it could also be said Isidor collides with the Derby defender, but both issues are negligible at best.
The pundits in the Sky Sports studio were stunned by the decision to rule the goal out, with Clinton Morrison saying: “The goal should have stood. He’s gone over to the bench and celebrated, then they said they’ve disallowed the goal.
“He was onside, the goal was given… Le Fee does well, there’s no foul, Isidor puts the ball in the back of the net. There’s no VAR, the referee pointed to the spot [for the kick-off]. So why has it not stood? I’m confused there.”
Jamie Mackie interjects to offer his thoughts, suggesting the fourth official may have told the referee in his ear about something he spotted.
“He must have done,” Mackie said. “That’s an outrage that. That is terrible.”
This has not been Wilson Isidor’s week
That goal would have been the perfect tonic for Isidor, who described the Burnley game as the worst night of his life thanks to two missed penalties that cost his side the win at Turf Moor.
Discussions were held among the Sunderland squad after that game, though a positive outcome appears to have arisen from the disappointment. And based on his display versus Derby, Isidor is hungry to put things right.
While the penalty misses were poor from the French forward, his efforts at Pride Park cannot be faulted, and it is absolutely ludicrous that he’s been denied that goal.
Now, Isidor will have to go again when his team take on Plymouth Argyle at the weekend, and in front of a home crowd at the Stadium of Light, you just know he will be desperate to give the fans something to cheer about and redeem himself after a tough week.