Crisis Brew-ing as awful Cats beaten
SHAMBOLIC Sunderland were booed off at the Stadium of Light as the crisis on Wearside deepened with a defeat at the hands of Burton Albion.
There was a chorus of ‘sacked in the morning’ directed towards manager Phil Parkinson – who has been in charge for just 11 games in all competitions – and ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ towards the players as the clock ticked down.
The Black Cats took the lead through Aiden McGeady’s penalty in the first half but were pegged back less than a minute later as Ryan Edwards levelled.
When Liam Boyce put the Brewers in front midway through the second half, the atmosphere inside the ground turned sour as Sunderland degenerated into a rabble.
The only wonder is how Burton did not add to their lead, Lucas Akins missing a gilt-edged opportunity and Scott Fraser crashing a shot against the bar.
Sunderland needed a lastminute goal to salvage a point against Coventry City at the weekend but there was no escape this time as the Black Cats suffered their first home league defeat since April.
They slipped to 11th in the table, three points from the playoffs and nine points from the automatic promotion places.
Owner Stewart Donald was in the directors’ box and he will be a worried man after witnessing not only this performance but the rising tide of anger from the stands which accompanied it.
Parkinson made two changes to the side which started the weekend draw against Coventry, Conor McLaughlin replacing the suspended George Dobson and Duncan Watmore coming in for Chris Maguire.
Albion boss Nigel Clough also made two changes, in his case to the side which lost 1-0 at Peterborough on Saturday.
He brought in Boyce and Jake Buxton in place of John Brayford and David Templeton.
After a cagey start in which neither side managed to carve out a chance worthy of the name, Sunderland were gifted the opener on 19 minutes when Luke O’Nien was sent tumbling by a nudge from John-Joe O’Toole.
It looked a soft one but referee Robert Lewis pointed to the spot and McGeady converted, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and tucking the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.
That lead lasted under a minute, Kieran Wallace working space to fire a shot goalwards from inside the box on the left.
Lee Burge could only palm it out as far as Edwards, who nodded home from six yards.
Watmore brought a save out of Kieran O’Hara when he cut inside the area from the right and hit a low, left-foot shot which took a nick off a defender – but the goalkeeper readjusted to scramble the ball away.
A surging run from Denver Hume ended with O’Nien shooting from the edge of the box, O’Hara diving to his left to turn the ball round the post.
At the other end Burge parried an effort from Boyce when he was left unattended inside the area.
Sunderland started the second half brightly, although Watmore and McLaughlin both missed the target with halfchances. O’Nien hit a volley into the turf which went straight at the grateful O’Hara.
However, the Black Cats were rocked on 68 minutes when Scott Fraser’s low cross from the left was turned in from close range by the unmarked Boyce.
Sunderland suddenly began to look a bag of nerves, Joel Lynch giving the ball away and setting Burton on the attack before he managed to recover.
Boyce then set up a golden chance for Akins to kill the game off.
Somehow, though, he managed to bundle the ball wide from inside the six-yard box when all he had to do was get his effort on target.
With Sunderland’s defence all at sea in the latter stages, Fraser smacked a shot against the bar from distance.