I watched Sunderland’s controversial win over Hull City and here are four conclusions I drew…
I watched Sunderland’s controversial win over Hull City and here are four conclusions I drew…
Sunderland returned to the top of the Championship with a 1-0 win over Hull City on Sunday afternoon.
Phil Smith was reporting on the game and here are his key Sunderland conclusions…
Nobody could or would pretend that this was a dominant or perfect performance from Sunderland.
They edged the first half in terms of possession but Hull City were a threat on the break, their willingness to sit deep and burst forward slightly catching the visitors off guard. Hull then dominated the opening exchanges of the second half, striker Chris Bedia crashing an effort off the post shortly before Wilson Isidor surged clear from a corner to score the winner. Hull, not unreasonably, felt luck was also on Sunderland’s side not just because of the referee’s positioning for that goal but also because of his decision not to penalise Chris Mepham for a handball just before the interval. On another day, perhaps the result might have gone another way.
What was impressive from a Sunderland perspective, though, was how few opportunities they limited Hull to throughout the contest and particularly after their goal. There was still half an hour to play at the point Isidor audaciously dinked his effort over Ivor Pandur and yet Anthony Patterson did not have another save to make. Hull registered just two shots from inside the Sunderland box from that point until the final whistle, both headers from corners that flew well over the bar. Across the entire 90 minutes, Hull registered an expected-goals tally of just 0.49.
Régis Le Bris said afterwards that this is a sign of his team developing and learning, encouraged that they had learned from the difficult experiences at Plymouth Argyle and Watford when they had lost control of the game and ceded too many chances to their opponent.
“I really appreciated this second half. It was not perfect, at all, but the willingness was clear and they tried,” he said.
“This is the first layer and if we can repeat this, we will have good results in the future.”
This was not Sunderland at their fluid best but to dominate games away from home in the Championship is never easy. Here their defensive principles were firmly on show again and if that continues, they will continue to pick up points even if the luck isn’t always entirely on their side.
Tim Walter revealed in his post-match press conference that he had received an apology from referee Bobby Madley after the game. Walter was incensed with Madley’s positioning for the short corner from which Sunderland eventually scored, arguing that the referee had blocked the path of a pass and impeded his player as a result. Walter added that such a routine was a staple of his teams across his career and that Madley ought to have been better prepared. You could understand some of the frustration and indeed Madley twice found himself in Dan Neil’s path at other stages of the game, at one stage pausing the contest as he made contact with the ball and the Sunderland midfielder.
Still, a little self reflection is required and some praise for Sunderland too. There was ample time for the Hull midfielder to play the ball after he gathered it, Madley by this stage well out of his path. There was also no need for Hull to have their final covering defender so high up the pitch, giving Isidor the space to show his impressive turn of pace. And it was notable that both Le Bris and Trai Hume afterwards said that they anticipated this routine from Hull, specifically devising their set up to counter it.
Hull conceded twice from their own corners against Sheffield United earlier in the season, and Sunderland sensed an opportunity. In a division of fine margins, little details can make a big difference.
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