Missed opportunity but no damage done
BUMP IN THE ROAD FOR THE REJUVENATED CATS
AT the beginning of March, as Lee Johnson reflected on a win against Swindon Town, he looked at the schedule for the month ahead and cautioned that there might be a few ‘bumps in the road’.
Three league victories and an EFL Trophy Wembley win later, Sunderland’s suspension has been tested for the first time.
A draw against promotion rivals Lincoln City at the Stadium of Light ended Sunderland’s run of five wins in all competitions, and saw Lee Burge concede for the first time in almost nine-and-a-half hours of football.
Their unbeaten run stretched to 11 games in all competitions, however, and they are top of the League One form table.
So if Sunderland’s bandwagon slowed, it was because it had hit a speed bump rather than a pothole. Sunderland dropped two points but lost no ground in the race for automatic promotion.
On a day when top two Hull City and Peterborough both dropped points, the worst that can be said is that this was a missed opportunity – a win would have seen them leapfrog Posh to go second – but there was no real damage done.
They remain third, two points behind Peterborough, while leaders Hull are still five points ahead – although Sunderland still have two games in hand of the Tigers.
Against Lincoln, a pinpoint cross from Max Power allowed Callum McFadzean to head his first league goal for the club shortly before half-time, and even though on-loan West Brom striker Callum Morton’s equaliser just after the hour came after he rolled Luke O’Nien rather too easily on the edge of the penalty area, it would be harsh to be too critical given the stand-in centre-back’s outstanding form in recent weeks.
It was a high-pressure game that pitted third against fourth, and there was little in it as two good sides went toe-to-toe – certainly it was very different to the 4-0 demolition job Sunderland did at Sincil Bank in December – and Sunderland were indebted to Burge for making a couple of important late saves to preserve their point.
If anything, the Black Cats looked a little leggy, although perhaps that was no surprise given that they have been on the Saturday-Tuesday- Saturday treadmill for ten weeks without a break.
This week will be their first without a midweek fixture since the beginning of January, and it will at last give Johnson and his squad a chance to draw breath before gearing up for the final push that gets under way at Bristol Rovers next weekend.
Before then, it is worth taking a moment to consider just how far Sunderland have come over the last month.
Back on February 9, the Black Cats lost at Shrewsbury on a bitterly cold night in Shropshire, with that defeat following disappointing back-to-back draws against Gillingham and MK Dons. They were seventh in the table. Lincoln were at the top of the table, 11 points ahead of Sunderland, and automatic promotion looked like a pipe dream. Lincoln have won two of their ten league games since, while Sunderland have won seven of nine, with that 11-point deficit transformed into a twopoint surplus, and still with a game in hand on the Imps.
It has been a remarkable turnaround. Ahead may lie bigger bumps in the road, but Sunderland are on the right track.
An off-day from him at centre-back, got away with a mistake but should then have done better for equaliser
Stormed forward down the left time and again and scored his first league goal for the club
Did well in the first half but looked tired in the second and was substituted