RAIN A PAIN, BUT LONG WAY TO GO
JACK ROSS SHRUGS OFF ABANDONED GAME AND JUST WANTS TO KEEP HIS SIDE ON A STEADY PATH
Ross has been consistent this season in setting the basic benchmark for promotion as around the two points per game ratio.
Sunderland remain ahead of that and with the return of Charlie Wyke and Duncan Watmore on the horizon, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
The Black Cats still have two opportunities to directly cut Portsmouth’s advantage, the first following their clash with Bristol Rovers next weekend.
Earlier this season, Ross spoke of a chart at the Academy of Light which tracked the performances of two sides right in the promotion mix last season.
At the time, Sunderland were fifth in the table, 12 games in.
One of the two sides Ross tracked were Blackburn Rovers, who went on a long winningruntolaunchthemselves into the promotion mix.
Sunderland subsequently did that themselves and are finely poised ahead of the busy festive schedule.
It is that kind of pragmatic thinking that left Ross ultimately comfortable with Langford’s decision to abandon the game.
Sunderland had every chance of going on to exploit the conditions and sealing three valuable points.
Just moments before the game was brought to a premature close, Chris Maguire gathered an Aiden McGeady pass and chipped a good effort onto the crossbar.
While Accrington had impressed in the first half, occasionally breaking through the Sunderland press with some clever moves, Ross had made a half-time switch to push Lynden Gooch wide from the centre of midfield and the Black Cats looked far more certain.
Still, the pitch was making the game farcical and Accrington’s equaliser embodied that, Jack Baldwin unable to clear as the ball got stuck at his feet.
Conditions only worsened after that and neither manager, both of whom have big aspirations for their season, was happy to take the risk. Above all else, the short term possibility of a fortuitous winner had to be balanced agsinst the prospect of losing a player for a lengthy period due to injury. These are two good footballing sides, determined to get it down and play. They deserve the chance to slug it out in proper conditions. In the meantime, Ross will not pay too much attention to the table. He is still quite happy with how Sunderland are tracking, even if the table might get one or two nerves jangling.