City slickers
ROCKIN’ ROBINS DEALS BEALE A BLOW
MICHAEL BEALE issued an apology after his first game in charge of Sunderland turned into a nightmare in front of new supporter Jude Bellingham.
Fans chanted “there’s only one Tony Mowbray” and walked out on the hour as Mark Robins’ men raced to a threegoal lead.
Axing Mowbray was a risk given Sunderland were on an even keel and in promotion contention.
Appointing Beale was immediately greeted with scepticism by Mackem supporters with the EX-QPR chief only being sacked by Rangers in October.
Sunderland surrendered with the best player in the world, Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, cheering them on.
Fans begged the brother of Sunderland teenager Jobe to sign for the club as he sneaked in via a back entrance. But even he would struggle to revive this show.
Beale said: “Today could not have gone any worse. We should not lose 3-0 at home. I apologise to the fans. It is not good enough.”
Asked about the Mowbray chants, Beale said: “He did a good job here. I have no issue with the fans showing their affection. That has now gone and we have to look forward.
“We didn’t show ruthlessness, and that exposed us.”
Within an hour there was a sour atmosphere and a large walkout of home fans.
Coventry’s opener in firsthalf injury time was fortunate. Callum O’hare broke down the left wing and crossed.
Japanese international Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s shot hit Trai Hume, but rebounded straight back into Sakamoto and deflected inside the far post.
It got worse after the break. Haji Wright broke down the left and cut inside to pick out O’hare. He controlled inside the box and curled home. Coventry’s third sparked widespread booing. A rare mistake from Anthony Patterson saw him spill a shot allowing Kasey Palmer to nab the ball, jink to his right and smash home from close range. City have lost only against Ipswich in the last eight games and their boss Mark Robins said: “We lost two brilliant players in the summer and had a 25-player turnover. We started again and that is frustrating. We got quality in. “It has taken a while to get used to the intensity and quality of the Championship. “Now they see what it is like. This division is harder than for a long time.”