2 weeks Ago By Phil Smith
Sign up to our Sunderland AFC newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Sunderland fell to a 2-1 defeat against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Good Friday. Phil Smith was there reporting for The Echo and these are his key conclusions.
.. SUNDERLAND LOSE AGAIN BUT THE FEELING THIS TIME IS VERY DIFFERENT Advertisement Advertisement There has been much debate about momentum this week, whether you can quickly recover your best form at the start of a play-off campaign or whether you need to go into those fixtures on a run of wins.
And yet while Sunderland lost again at Ashton Gate, this was not an afternoon that left anyone feeling that the club's promotion hopes had taken a significant hit. The reception for the players from the travelling supporters at the end was in fact very generous, a reflection of a game in which Sunderland almost landed a result in the most unlikely of circumstances. For a little while Sunderland had actually looked very bright, dominating possession and moving the ball well.
Enzo Le Fée was dictating play and you could see in flashes the potential of this team with him at the heart of it. The game simply turned on a hugely controversial decision, Trai Hume adjudged to have committed a professional foul when Nakhi Wells ran through on goal. Suddenly, Sunderland were facing over 80 minutes with a player less against a promotion rival.
And they made a decent job of it, too. The first half performance was excellent, limiting Bristol City to few opportunities and still managing to pose a threat on the break. Advertisement Advertisement To their credit, the hosts made the improvements they needed to at the break and Sunderland struggled throughout the second half.
On balance of play and chances, Bristol City were in the end worthy of their win but you would expect that in the circumstances. As Régis Le Bris said afterwards , were this scenario to be replicated in a play-off semi final, Sunderland would from a hugely challenging scenario be going back to the Stadium of Light with the game wide open. You couldn't leave the ground with any doubts about Sunderland's togetherness, spirit and structure.
Fans will hope they can build on that by finding some greater attacking rhythm in the games ahead. ELIEZER MAYENDA IS MAKING A CASE IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE Bristol City boss Liam Manning explained afterwards that he'd instructed his players to be more aggressive when challenging Eliezer Mayenda at half time, something that undoubtedly had a big impact on the game and Sunderland's attacking threat. Mayenda, though, was the best player on the pitch and his first-half display showed the strides he continues to make.
It's not just the quite sensational solo goal that he scored, but the fact that there were three or four other occasions in the half where he fashioned an opening for Sunderland despite receiving the ball in his own half and surrounded by Bristol City players. Still just 19, his potential is huge and we are almost reaching the point where it's almost impossible to imagine Sunderland going into a play-off game without him being named in the starting XI. That's no slight on Wilson Isidor, whose pace in behind and ability to score goals from nothing are key reasons why Sunderland sit fourth in the table.
Isidor, though, will know his place in the side next month is now far from guaranteed and the pressure will be on when he plays in the weeks ahead. LE BRIS HAS HIS WORK CUT OUT TO MANAGE DELICATE SITUATION Advertisement Advertisement It was another tough afternoon for Tommy Watson at Ashton Gate. While he was clearly not helped by the game situation, he wasn't able to retain possession as Sunderland would have liked - either winning fouls to slow the game down or getting his team up the pitch to relieve the pressure.
Sunderland's hope was that news of Watson's move to Brighton this summer would draw a line under the issue and allow everyone to focus on the play-offs, rather than letting the end of the season play out with ongoing transfer speculation. At the moment it's working out the other way, whereby Watson's performances are coming under additional scrutiny. Watson is definitely struggling out of possession and in duels at the moment, but it should be said that this has always been the weakest part of his game even at his very best form.
Le Bris feels Watson is a little off the pace at the moment after so long on the sidelines, and that his rhythm will return as he plays more and more. That may be true, but at the moment the situation risks becoming a distraction from Sunderland's focus on the play-offs. It's a very tricky situation for Le Bris to manage.
FRUSTRATING AFTERNOON COMES WITH ONE BIG POSITIVE Even in just five or six minutes, you could see that having Enzo Le Fée in midfield is a game changer for Sunderland. The increase in tempo he brings to Sunderland's play, his willingness to take the ball off defenders in difficult situations and his willingness to take risks on the ball. He could be the difference in a tight play-off fixture.
Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland man stars in new role while inspired sub makes the difference - moments missed at Bristol City.
