Black Cats and Wyke prove clinical at Plough Lane
We will, unfortunately, have to talk about the bit in the middle, but it feels worth reflecting on the two goals that bookended this tense and, if we're honest, often quite mundane contest.
Two very different moves, that summed up the early challenge Lee Johnson has faced at Sunderland, and give some confidence that he is taking steps to address it.
An inability to break down deep-lying defences has been an Achilles' heel for the Black Cats long predating Johnson's arrival, and before the game the head coach had talked about being more of a threat in central areas.
Sunderland have quality out wide and when the squad is near full fitness, they can be relied upon to carve out a decent number of chances.
It' s in central areas that they have struggled, partially down to personnel and partially, Johnson has said, due to there being too much caution and fear in their play. So the first goal was heartening.
Johnson's switch to a 4-22-2 is in part to address those past shortcomings. It brings another player closer to the central-forward, and gives the head coach a chance to get two attacking midfielders in support of them.
Charlie Wyke's opener came a sE lliotEmb let on found space in the box, teeing up with Aiden O'Brien with a clever pass. O'Brien's decision making was good, andWyke did the rest. A smart goal, coming from the kind of intricate play that we should see more often from a squad that is not blessed with raw pace but has plenty of technical quality for the level.
Wyke's second was the pick of the bunch, a superb volley as he again owned the 'POMO', opening up the game and allowing Sunderland to pick AFC Wimbledon off on the break.
Which is what made the third goal, so different from the first, worthy of note.
The Black Cats had been labouring early in the second half, Wimbledon having the better of both possession and territory. Johnson had the options on the bench to mix it up and reverted to a 4-3-3.
Embleton was withdrawn, not a reflection of his performancebut of the need for more presence in central midfield. Carl Winchester replaced him and looked neat and tidy in possession. Jack Diamond was introduced not long after and both were key figures, if not the decisive one, in the swift break that truly killed the contest.Winchester teed up Sc owen and the central midfielder carried it forward.
Diamond had twice broken into space before, on one occasion striking the post and and on the other slicing wide.
That forced the defenders to sit off andWykew as the beneficiary,receiving the pass and chipping a superb finish over the goalkeeper.
If there were two key positivesfrom the contest for Johnson then this was the first, the variety in his squad and the way he was able to use it throughout the 90 to adjust to different challenges.
The second was that even if Sunderland struggled in large patches of the game, their goal keeper was rarely tested.
That owed much to a commanding display from Jordan Willis, and the way Bailey Wright was then able to deliver an assured performance alongside him.
As Johnson looks to install a more attacking philosophy, Sunderland will be more open and the pace of Willis to offer cover is going to be crucial.
It was not for no reason, though, that Johnson was more than measured in his post-match assessment.
It had been an occasionally fraught afternoon, and there were long periods when 3-0 seemed a most unlikely result. The Sunderland head coach is generally a composed presence on the touchline but halfway through the first half, his side received a ferocious volley as another pass drifted aimlessly into touch.
The Black Cats had grown slack in possession since the opener, and the first half was marked by regular demonstrationsof frustration in the Black Cats ranks.
So while praising his side for their resilience and quality at the end, it was not for nothingthat some of John son' s first remarks when reflecting on the game were to bemoan the attitude of that first half period, and to call for better quality in possession.
The latter point is particularly key because as Sunderland open up, they cannot afford to give the opposition the chance to counter by giving up possession too easily.
Lynden Gooch's late withdrawal due to a positive Covid-19 test again had the Black Cats boss altering his plans at a late stage. Johnson briefly touched upon transfers after the game, and remained confident that he could land at least one more addition before the window shuts.
He pointed out again, though, that he is battling not just a challenging salary cap but also the fact that he and Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman have inherited a virtually non-existent recruitment department.
This is some rebuilding job and those fraught passages either side of half time were a firm reminder of the work to be done in the months ahead.
In the short term, though he needed a win. And that he was able to get there a couple of different ways offered hope.