Why Nyron Nosworthy is raising smiles at Sunderland

By Simon Bird

Published 16:22 14/12/09

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Football is short of cult heroes. But Sunderland certainly have one in Nyron Nosworthy.

You could describe him as a fringe player, as a journeyman. He is certainly an unassuming guy who has made the most of his talent through sheer hard-work and determination.

He was recalled to Sunderland’s team for the draw with Portsmouth and was their star performer. Flying up the wing from right back, winning tackles, and even threatening in the opposition box.

I use the word threaten loosely. He skied one shot into Row Z, but it was the battling manner he created the chance that got the Stadium of Light crowd going.

He said: “I suppose my shot was a Nyron finish. To be honest, I wasn’t even trying to shoot and that makes it even worse. My radar was well off and my sat nav must have been in my back pocket. That’s all I can say. If I ever scored, that would be it. I would finish my career, there and then, on a high.”

Then there was the moment he fell over, without anyone around him. “I think that was the Sunderland ghost, the black cat ghost must have come over and said: 'Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself' and pushed me over. I lost my footing and thought I’m going down anyway, so I might as well go down gracefully, roll about and then get up and have a laugh.

“It was pleasing for the crowd and it wasn’t too bad for me either. Nobody could see me going red!“

He will thoroughly deserve to retain his place for the Aston Villa clash.

Follow Simon Bird on Twitter at: twitter.com/simonbirdmirror

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