Dan Neil hands Sunderland gift to Craig Gordon in testimonial at Hearts
Sunderland were reunited with veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon as they took on Hearts for his testimonial in pre-season on Saturday.
Gordon spent five years on Tyneside after joining the Black Cats from Hearts in August 2007 for £9million, making him the most expensive goalkeeper signed by a British club at the time.
A series of serious injuries limited the shot-stopper to just 94 appearances for Sunderland before he left the Mackems and spent two years without a club as he recovered from continual knee issues.
The 42-year-old returned to professional football in 2014 by joining Celtic, before returning to his boyhood club six years later.
Hearts organised a testimonial match against Sunderland for Gordon, who was presented with a gift by Dan Neil ahead of kick-off.
Gordon gifted Sunderland goalkeeper top with his name on it
Despite his captaincy, Neil faces an uncertain future at Sunderland with less than a year left on his contract, and was limited to a spot on the bench for both pre-season fixtures in Portugal against Sporting CP and Sevilla.
However, he was brought back into the starting line-up against Hearts, and his first port of call was to present Gordon with a Sunderland goalkeeper top with his name on it before kick-off, as reported by James Copley (26 July).
| Club | Appearances | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets |
| Hearts | 330 | 363 | 106 |
| Celtic | 242 | 193 | 121 |
| Sunderland | 94 | 134 | 21 |
The veteran goalkeeper received a great reception from both sets of fans and started the game before being subbed off within 30 seconds of kick-off.
It was a classy touch from the Mackems to recognise their former shotstopper, who produced some memorable moments at the Stadium of Light despite his fitness issues.
Sunderland’s performance ruined occasion for Le Bris
Regis Le Bris was all smiles before kick-off as the heartwarming presentation was made, but cut a disgruntled figure by the end as Sunderland fell to a 3-0 defeat.
The Mackems started five of their six summer signings, and it showed as the team looked disjointed both with the ball and in their defending.
They struggled to capitalise on moments of extended possession, rarely testing the Hearts goalkeeper, but were carved open far too easily in transition, conceding three avoidable goals.
Le Bris will point to current injuries as a key factor, but will also know that he needs to quickly turn their fortunes around, as their opening Premier League fixture against West Ham is now just three weeks away.
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