Hume heads up over ex-Magpie moments missed against Reading
After shaking hands with Reading’s coaching staff and applauding the home supporters, Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray gave a big thumbs up before leaving the field at full-time.
The Black Cats boss knew this wasn’t his side’s best performance, yet a 1-0 victory courtesy of Patrick Roberts’ late winner saw them move withinaplaceandapointofthe Championship play-off places.
Here are some of the moments you may have missed…
TraiHumewinsAndyCarroll battle
Leading Reading’s attack was former Newcastle United striker Carroll, with the 34-year-old returning from a one-match suspension for his red card against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
At 6ft 4in the frontman is a towering figure, so you wouldn’t expect Sunderland full-back Trai Hume, listed at 5ft9in,tobewinningaerialduels when the pair challenged for the ball.
Yet there were multiple occasions when Hume was able to beat Carroll in the air, with Sunderland keeping their opponents at arm’s length and conceding just one effort on target.
Fans receive false scoreline
ThefirsthalfattheStadium of Light was pretty uneventful as Sunderland struggled to break Reading down, despite dominating possession.
At half-time there was a brief cheer from some home
fans when it was announced Hull City were beating Stoke City 3-0 – a response aimed towards former Black Cats boss Alex Neil.
Yet it turned out the match at The bet365 Stadium was actually goalless and remained 0-0 at full-time.
TheresultleavesStoke19th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.
A familiar face in the
Reading dugout
Supporters may have noticed former Sunderland midfielder Alex Rae in the visitors’ dugout, with the 53-year-old regularly giving out instructions from the edge of the visitors’ technical area.
Rae,whospentfiveyearson Wearside as a player between 1996 and 2001, was appointed PaulInce’sassistantatReading in February last year.
Sunderland unhappy with a lack of stoppage-time
At the end of the first half there were just two minutes of added time, despite several stoppages in play when Readingweretryingtoruntheclock down.
As players walked off the pitch at the interval, Sunderland coaches Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor made a point to referee David Coote, presumablyaskingwhymoreminutes weren’t added on.
It summed up a frustrating first half for the hosts before they found more gears after the interval.
New signing not in the squad
After making his Sunderland debut as a substitute at Millwall last weekend, new signing Joe Anderson wasn’t named in the squad against
Reading.
The 21-year-old was in attendance at the Stadium of Light, yet Luke O’Nien’s versatility meant Mowbray felt he didn’t need another defender on the bench.
Winger Isaac Lihadji was named in the Black Cats squad for the first time since his arrival from Lille last month and was brought on with 15 minutes remaining.