A bizarre own goal by Charlie Mulgrew helped Sunderland claim a comfortable 2-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Trai Hume opened the scoring for the Black Cats, capitalising on an error from United keeper Carljohan Eriksson.
And the contest was settled by one of strangest strikes Tannadice will see all campaign.
Mulgrew attempted to play a pass-back to Eriksson and, without checking on the Finn’s positioning, proceeded to lash the ball into his own net from 45 yards.
A first look at Carljohan Eriksson
The visit of the Black Cats afforded the United faithful their first glimpse of Eriksson.
The Finland internationalist joined United from Mjallby in January, fresh from being named goalkeeper of the year in the Swedish top-flight.
However, he failed to displace Benji Siegrist between the sticks during the second half of last season.
Eriksson faces another battle for the gloves as the Terrors prepare to snap up Australian stopper Mark Birighitti from Central Coast Mariners.
And Eriksson had an eventful outing on Saturday. He made a fine low save to deny Scotland striker Ross Stewart from point-blank range in opening 45.
An even better stop came immediately after the break when Eriksson — at full-stretch — tipped a Daniel Neil header to safety; a fabulous save.
However, he was culpable for the opening goal of the goal, punching a Dennis Cirkin delivery straight onto the head of Hume, who gleefully nodded into an empty net.
A moment of madness
There is an entire campaign of football still to be played at Tannadice.
Mulgrew 😱😂 #safc pic.twitter.com/lZeP3zYo0x
— @UpsideDownCat (@UpsideDown0612) July 16, 2022
However, it appears unlikely that a more bizarre goal will be scored in 2022/23 than the one which gave Sunderland a 2-0 lead.
Tangerines ace Mulgrew sought to deliver a pass-back to Eriksson from around 40 yards, with the keeper advancing outside his box to make life easier for the ex-Scotland international.
However, Mulgrew completely misjudged his angles and power — and fizzed an errant ball past Eriksson and into the United net.
Better to get such moments out of the way before the real action starts…
Against a backdrop of jeers from the 1,500 travelling Sunderland fans, victory was assured for Alex Neil’s side.
Tony Watt silver lining
Archie Meekison was bright, Scott McMann was tireless and Rory MacLeod was not overawed against English Championship opposition.
However, the main United silver lining from a fairly comfortable Sunderland victory was the display of Tony Watt.
The former Celtic, Hearts and Motherwell man showed a willingness to run at the Sunderland defenders, forcing a super low save from Anthony Patterson deep into the second half.
That was as close as United came to rippling the net.
Watt’s surge into the box and low delivery looked destined to tee MacLeod up, but a stunning Neil clearance denied the 16-year-old a certain goal.
The performance gave a tantalising glimpse into what he could be capable of playing alongside the focal point of Steven Fletcher, who missed out on against his former club.
A heightened perspective
While it is increasingly commonplace to see a manager watch a portion of the game from the stands, United head coach Ross spent the entire match watching from on-high — albeit feeding messages down to the dugout.
The viewpoint afforded him a better sense of his side’s shape — which altered between 4231 and 352 at different points — as the competitive kick-off against Kilmarnock on July 30 approaches.
Ross will no doubt seek to implement many of the lessons learned as when United visit Fleetwood next Saturday.
Mark Birighitti to Dundee United agreement confirmed by ‘shattered’ Central Coast Mariners chief
Conversation