Sunderland came out on top on Friday afternoon in what proved to be a tough clash against Shrewsbury Town.
Sunderland won 3-2 thanks to goals from Elliot Embleton and Nathan Broadhead, but Alex Neil’s side left it late again.
It has become somewhat of a common occurrence since Neil took the helm that the Black Cats score late on, but with a new never say die attitude, it sets them in a good position as they look at the possibility of promotion through the play-offs.
Speaking to Chronicle Live after the game, Neil delivered his thoughts on the tie, stating the win showed both the best and worst of Sunderland. Here’s what he had to say:
“What you’ve seen today is the best and the worst of us in one match.
“Then a sloppiness crept in about five minutes before half-time, too many people taking too many touches, complicating the game.
“What we do have is a real resilience, a determination, a fitness level, and quality that allows us to go and win games late in the match.”
Neil admitted he didn’t celebrate the extra-time winner as he was disappointed with the second-half performance and the new high standards on Wearside are something Sunderland supporters are getting right behind.
The difference-maker
In their past attempts, Sunderland have often found themselves falling to late equalisers and defeats which sets a weak mentality. The 2018/19 season springs to mind, where the Black Cats entered the play-offs on poor form. This ended with the Wearsiders losing the play-off final with the final kick of the game after being handed a gift of an own goal in the opening five minutes.
However, now Sunderland seem to be the team piling the misery on their opposition late on and this new mentality instilled by head coach Neil will hugely increase their chances of promotion via the play-offs.
With four games remaining, Sunderland are now nine unbeaten and fans on the River Wear are becoming increasingly confident that this will be their year.
