Goal-shy Cats trying hard to end drought
David Moyes was left to rue another game without a goal as Sunderland’s barren run stretched to six games and their survival hopes suffered another heavy blow.
The Black Cats have failed to score in nine hours and 45 minutes of Premier League football with the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City leaving them stranded with eight games to go.
Sunderland were well in the game until Leicester City made a double substitution, with Marc Albrighton crossing for fellow sub Islam Slimani to head home on 69 minutes.
Less than 10 minutes later it was 2-0, Jamie Vardy adding a second to leave Sunderland eight points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table.
Substitute Victor Anichebe hit the post for Sunderland before Vardy sealed the win.
“We have been trying,” said a frustrated Moyes when asked about a run which has seen them score in only one of their last 10 league games.
“Getting Victor Anichebe back will help us. I am not saying he is going to be prolific but he will maybe help us make more opportunities.
“Everyone needs to chip in. We had some great deliveries from corner kicks. You couldn’t say it was anything to do with the deliveries.
“We need people to score from outside of the
box. We shot wide. We had a couple of great crosses. There was a lot of good things but we are struggling to find those goals.
“Everybody would have got a lift if Victor’s goal had gone in. At 1-1 it might have been a different story.”
Under-fire Moyes praised his players for the way they approached the game, with Sunderland more than a match for in-form Leicester City.
Moyes said: “I thought we had done a really good job up to the 60-65 minutes, I thought we played well and we limited Leicester.
“In general we kept them quiet compared to some of their other performances.
“Ultimately we allowed a cheap cross to come in and we should win the header for the goal – the first goal was always going to be vitally important.
“Simple things which you would expect to be dealt with quite easily, that is difficult to explain. The players’ effort was great, they did everything they could to get a result,” he added.
“I can’t fault them for that. Commitment wise, they were very good.”
Moyes has come in for heavy criticism from the FA chairman, Greg Clarke, following his comments to a BBC journalist.
Moyes faces potential FA action for warning a reporter that they ‘might get a slap’ after he was asked about Ellis Short.
The FA have written to Sunderland asking for their observations on the incident, potentially preceding a ban or a fine.
Clarke has now waded into the row, calling the Scot’s remarks ‘distasteful’ and ‘regrettable’.
He said: “It was regrettable, it was distasteful, and it showed a complete lack of respect. And we in the game stand for respect. It’s doubly bad to use such a term to a woman because there is a lot of violence against women in society and terms like that aren’t just disrespectful, they are bad examples.”