Black Cats’ Trophy humblings show they are going backwards
WEMBLEY NOW A DISTANT MEMORY
FROM Wembley finalists to Glanford Park laughing stock in the space of 226 days.
Nothing quite sums up how far – and how fast – Sunderland have regressed as the club’s contrasting fortunes this season and last in the EFL Trophy.
The Trophy may be an unloved competition, but the Black Cats’ march to the final – and the scenes in Trafalgar Square on the eve of the game when 40,000 fans took over central London – provided one of the highlights of last season, before their penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Portsmouth.
But there will be no repeat this time round.
Sunderland have shamed themselves twice in the space of a week in the Trophy.
Last week they were humiliated by Leicester City’s U21s at the Stadium of Light; this week, needing a win to progress, they were thrashed by a Scunthorpe United side lying 21st in League Two and bundled out of the competition at the group stage as a result.
Angry Sunderland fans who made the trip were left to chant ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ as their team – heads down, beaten and demoralised – went through the motions in the final few minutes.
Sad though it was to hear, it is impossible to disagree with the supporters’ withering assessment given what they had just witnessed.
Just as against Leicester, Phil Parkinson had fielded what appeared – on paper – to be a strong side, arguably the strongest he could have named when international call-ups, injuries and illness had been taken into consideration.
And yes, they were denied a clearcut penalty when Luke O’Nien was brought down early on – but there were 85 minutes still to play at that point, so I don’t buy that as an excuse for what followed. Instead, O’Nien gave away a penalty midway through the second half and as a result was sent off for denying a goalcoring opportunity, with Lee Novak converting from the spot. Abo Eisa and Novak again rubbed salt into the wound with goals in the final few minutes.
But even in the first half, when it was still 11v11, Sunderland did not manage a single shot on target, and Scunthorpe could easily have been a couple of goals to the good.
It was alarming stuff. Parkinson’s post-match reaction was measured and he refused to publicly criticise his players, and perhaps some things are better kept behind closed doors.
But he watched the same game that everyone else did, and he is nobody’s fool – he knows this was another unacceptable performance.
Of course, it goes without saying that
Sunderland’s priority is promotion and Tuesday night’s game, the Leicester match, the weekend FA Cup draw against Gillingham and the Carabao Cup exit at Oxford United can therefore be written off as unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
But it is still indicative of the direction of travel over the last month. Sunderland are getting worse, not better. If performances like these continue in the league, Sunderland can kiss goodbye to any hopes they may have of automatic promotion. And they can forget about the play-offs, too.
Angry fans were left to chant ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ ... sad though it was to hear, it is impossible to disagree