Sunderland’s never-say-die attitude evident – Dobson
and the first 10 minutes was nowhere near good enough; we didn't start the game good enough, and then they just came and frustrated us. They gotthegoal,thensatbehindthe ball,time-wastedridiculously.
“But it's a massive point. Obviously we would want to win the game but in context of wherewewereatwithtenminutes to go it keeps the momentumgoing,andobviouslygoing into another massive game at the weekend.
“All the boys are buzzing, on a massive high, so we've just gotta take that onto the weekendandhopefullystartbetter.”
The result extended Sunderland’s unbeaten run to five games and, having lost just once since December 14, it’s nosurpriseconfidenceishigh.
Goals have been plentiful in recent weeks too, with the Black Cats only failing to score twice in their last 13 games.
It’s those statistics that made Dobson sure the side wouldsomehowfindaleveller.
“If you know in that you can always get a goal, you've never given up and keep going until the final whistle - and it was literally the final whistle - it does give the whole team and the whole group more belief and so it's massive for us.
“As I said, we didn't start good enough but it's a big point andit'sontotheweekendnow.”
WhileSunderlandhadthat belief throughout the evening, theywerewell-marshalledbya Fleetwood side who set out to frustrate after Barrie McKay’s early strike.
There was little complaint from the home dressing room about their style of play, though. “We’ve done the same thing,” admitted Dobson.
“Obviously,whenwescored the early go Oxford, we tried to frustrate them, and we were able to see it out. And especially when it gets down to these last 10-11 games, the points are so massive and teams are going to frustrate. So you can't get frustrated at yourself as a team.You'vegottojustkeepgoing and keep doing your stuff, and obviously it paid off today. We weren't brilliant, but then when you're not brilliant, then you're still getting results is positive.
“We've had four straight wins and four straight clean sheets, but tonight was a different test in terms of, we conceded early, something we haven't been used to in the last 10 games, and we found a way to get a point and keep what is another unbeaten run going.”
“It was similar on Saturday in terms of Bristol sitting behind the ball too,” he continued. “With Fleetwood getting the early goal though, it meant they had something to hold on to. So that was always going to be a frustration.
“We probably could have been more patient at times today, but in the end, our patience did pay off.”
And when that patience paid off, it created some memorablescenesattheStadiumof Light.FleetwoodbossJoeyBarton claimed the Black Cats celebrated as if they had won the World Cup and, while that was more than slightly hyperbolic, thecelebrationswerecertainly far less muted than they have been in recent weeks.
It was an outpouring of joy and relief - and a moment that the dressing room are now keen to use to help drive Sunderland forward.
“It was brilliant,” said Dobson. “I was on the bench at the time,butwhetheryou'reonthe bench or out there, it's a great feeling for everyone.
“Obviously, the relief of it being so late on. I was buzzing for Max.
“You can tell he's a leader. The gaffer's obviously given him that responsibility since the last 10-11 games or whatever it's been, and yeah, he's a leader on the pitch and off the pitch and he's been a massive help to everyone. I really enjoy playing with him and long may it continue.
“Hisgoaljustsetsusingood stead to keep the momentum going, which I just feel like it's going to be a massive thing.”
Dobson’s final word went to the supporters. As another bumper crowd backed the side,itwasnoticeablethatatno pointdidn’ttheyletthefrustration turn into anger.
That,saysDobson,isn’tlost on the dressing room. “The fans are massive for us. When there is so many of them you need them to stay behind you at all times, especially going into these last 11 games.
“We're really going to need them, so I just hope they stick with us and keep doing what they're doing.”