The latest edition of the Sunderland weekly round-up takes a look at the latest news from the Stadium of Light. New head coach Alex Neil was unveiled on Friday and following his first game in charge of the Black Cats, he gave his honest assessment of the squad. We also take a look at the rest of the news from the past week at Sunderland.
New Head Coach Alex Neil Gives Honest Assessment of Squad
Third Straight Defeat Ahead of New Head Coach Arriving
A second demoralising defeat in seven days saw Sunderland travel to Cheltenham Town last Tuesday evening hoping to put things right. Alex Pritchard’s first-half free-kick gave the Black Cats the lead; however, this was as good as it got. Cheltenham, without a win since November, were the better side in the second half scoring two goals to sink managerless Sunderland and condemn them to a third defeat in 10 days.
Sunderland Recruit Alex Neil as New Head Coach
Following almost two weeks of rumours and interviews, Sunderland finally unveiled their new head coach on Friday. Many names had been linked with the job since the Black Cats sacked Lee Johnson following the 6-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers. For the majority of the time, it appeared as if former manager Roy Keane would be returning to the club.
However, after much discussion, Keane turned down the chance to return. Sunderland acted quickly in turning their attention to the former Norwich City manager Alex Neil. On Friday, following his first training session and journey to London, he was officially announced as the new head coach of Sunderland.
Run of Defeats End at Wimbledon but It’s far from Perfect
New head coach Alex Neil was given little time to prepare his new team for the trip to Wimbledon. Less than 24 hours after being officially announced, Neil was in the dugout for the first time. The Black Cats had been on a dismal run of late which had seen them drop from automatic promotion candidates to play off hopefuls; however, there is still time for this to be rectified.
Three consecutive defeats, two without a head coach saw Sunderland in dire need of a win.
They failed to get the win but a 1-1 draw thanks to an Alex Pritchard freekick equaliser halted the run of defeats. In a low-quality game, Sunderland fell behind when defender Callum Doyle handled the ball after it was hit at him from a yard away. The referee gave the penalty which was converted. Later in the half, Pritchard scored with a curling freekick to earn a share of the points.
Alex Neil now has a full week to work with the squad ahead of two crucial home games in quick succession.
Head Coach Alex Neil Gives Assessment of His Squad Following First Game in Charge
Following the draw at Wimbledon, Alex Neil reflected on his short time at the club and his first game giving an honest assessment of the squad he has to work with. He said, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo: “I thought there were mistakes and errors that we wouldn’t expect.
“We had a couple of good moments, some good chances, but not enough moments. It’s a platform in terms of, we’ve lost three in a row and that’s a point, but if we want to be in the mix come the end of the season then we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got to get our ideas into them next week. What struck me about that team was that I think there were seven players under the age of 22.
“So there’s not a lot of experience there and there’s a gap in terms of, experienced players have come into the club but they’ve not had many minutes, so they’re coming from a standing start. Then you have a lot of lads in their first year and at the minute, a lot of them look tired.
“We’ve got quality, but we’re young and naive in certain areas of the pitch, They have quality too, but it’s about game understanding, knowledge, which comes from repetition, matches, and that will be a focus for us without overloading them. I don’t know if it’s fatigue or lack of fitness, when it became a transition game in the last 20 minutes, that should suit us with the quality we’ve got.
“We’ve got to protect these boys, so that we try and freshen them up for these games physically and mentally. These next few games are going to be really important.”
Ladies Latest: Game of Two Halves See Ladies Fall to Defeat
Sunderland Ladies suffered a frustrating afternoon away at Liverpool at the weekend. Nine points clear at the top of the table and having conceded just once in 10 games, Liverpool’s Ladies were clear favourites to win. The lady Black Cats however held their own during an impressive first-half display, creating enough chances that should have seen them take the lead before the break.
The tide turned early in the second half when Sunderland’s Neve Herron was sent off after the referee believed she had committed a foul in the box when she was the last defender. The penalty was converted with Liverpool winning 3-0 following two late goals.
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