Sunderland taught a harsh lesson in concentration Tony Mowbray Say

Sunderland Taught A Hars

Sunderland taught a harsh lesson in concentration Tony Mowbray Say

Sunderland were hit by a late sucker-punch after dominating for virtually the full 90 minutes against Cardiff City

Call it a smash-and-grab. A heist. Apply any label you want.

What it amounted to was a classic away performance from Cardiff City. Sunderland were the dominant force, created a number of chances, and for most of the match at the Stadium of Light it was one-way traffic.

Cardiff sat deep, put men behind the ball, defended for their lives – and, when their back line was breached, former Sunderland academy goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was there to bail them out with a series of saves. And for 87 minutes, it seemed the story of this game would be Cardiff’s defensive resolve and the return of Alnwick to Wearside to frustrate his old club and deny them a fourth successive victory.

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A Cardiff win? Not likely! The Bluebirds had come for a point, as evidenced by the fact they had not managed so much as a single shot on target.

 

Yet one misplaced pass, and one bad defensive decision, meant Sunderland paid a heavy price. It was Trai Hume’s miscued backpass that conceded a needless corner.

 

And it was Luke O’Nien’s decision to wrestle with, rather than mark, centre-back Mark McGuinness that allowed the Cardiff man to head home what turned out to be the winning goal. Up to that point, the game had been there for Sunderland to win.

h Lesson In Concentration Tony Mowbray