Job now is to save Black Cats’ season

NOWHERE FOR PARKY OR PLAYERS TO HIDE, FORM MUST CHANGE SOON

STRUGGLING in the league and now out of the Carabao Cup, the Black Cats’ season is in danger of turning into a salvage mission.

And we are not yet out of October.

In the grand scheme of things, last night’s cup exit on penalties at Oxford United was a more an annoyance than a body-blow.

Cup competitions of all flavours pale into insignificance alongside Sunderland’s all-important goal of earning promotion.

But it fed into the narrative that is fast becoming entrenched on Wearside of a team – and a club – that is running to stand still in League One.

They are eighth in the table, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places, three shy of the play-off spots, and well off the pace in League One.

And now they have seen a cup run that had seen them upset Premier League opposition in the shape of Burnley and Sheffield United, brought to a shuddering halt by a League One rival. Off the field, the wait for investment in the club continues, with reports claiming that it would be all tied up by the end of last week proving wildly optimistic.

In the meantime, it is Sunderland’s fortunes on the pitch that are the greater concern. Under Parkinson, the Black

Cats are undoubtedly playing at a faster tempo but so far – with the notable exception of the 5-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers last week – it has yet to produce results.

Defeats on the road at Wycombe Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town have yielded no goals and just three shots on target between them.

At Oxford, Sunderland hit the woodwork twice but again managed only one shot on target – Marc McNulty’s goal, which cancelled out Rob Hall’s first-half opener for t h e Us.

Parkinson was furious with referee Steve Martin and his assistants – and rightly so – for turning down two clear penalties, the second of which would have given his side the chance to win the game

Oxford United players celebrate their Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out victory on Tuesday. For Sunderland, it means their pleasant distraction is gone – though their league struggles remain

two minutes from time when Luke O’Nien was sent sprawling by Sam Long.

But the vagaries of the officials are outside Sunderland’s control. It would not have mattered if Sunderland had taken more care over something they are in control of – their finishing – with Max Power guilty of the worst miss when he somehow missed the target from six yards out, while Aiden McGeady was also wasteful at times.

Sunderland started with five at the back and were outplayed for an hour, and it was only when they switched to a back four for the final half-hour that they began to push Oxford back.

Overall, a 1-1 draw felt about right but it meant the game went to penalties.

Oxford were flawless from the spot, scoring four out of four, and while Power and O’Nien converted for the Black Cats, Will Grigg blazed over the bar and McNulty saw his kick saved by Simon Eastwood.

Those misses summed up Sunderland’s night perfectly.

Cup competitions of all flavours pale into insignificance alongside Sunderland’s allimportant goal of promotion