Regis Le Bris shared his frustration at Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Preston North End and stated: “We weren’t efficient.” But the Black Cats head coach acknowledged the brilliance of Romaine Mundle who was dropped to the bench but came on to crack a stunning equaliser.
It was a massive opportunity missed for Sunderland to make ground on the teams above them as Burnley and Sheffield United both drew on the night. The Black Cats, who went 4-4-2 rather than the usual 4-3-3, fell behind shortly after Mundle’s introduction when Emil Riis Jakobsen rifled home from 25 yards.
Having been unable to make a breakthrough, Sunderland found it at last with four minutes to play when Mundle produced a moment of magic. The 21-year-old received the ball on the edge of the box, shifted it out of his feet, and curled a superb effort over Freddie Woodman and into the net. The result extends the Lads’ unbeaten run to three games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Coventry City – the last match before the international break.
Mundle was pleased to score his first goal after returning from injury, and explained he wanted to ‘take some risks’ with the game ebbing away.
“When I came on, I wanted to take some risks,” he explained. “To help the team a bit and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t, but thankfully today it did.
“It’s just good to get my first goal after injuries and hopefully I can kick on from here, We need to keep taking it game-by-game. We’ve reacted well since the defeat against Hull and we need to try and keep building momentum. Our next game is Coventry. We will set up how we are asked by the manager and take every game as it comes really.
For Le Bris, it was a case of mixed emotions, with the Black Cats boss admitting his side were not quite good enough in certain areas, while he was pleased with other aspects.
“It was a tough game against a team that likes to play direct, with plenty of duels and balls in behind,” Le Bris said. “We started well and created enough chances to score, but we weren’t efficient.
“We struggled to find the right balance in midfield with a new set-up. It takes time, especially when playing with two strikers. At times, it worked well, but it wasn’t enough to maintain consistency throughout the game.
“I liked our reaction at the end. In these moments, we needed creativity, talent, and something different. It’s about taking responsibility in the final third, and today, Romaine showed that we have players in the squad capable of doing that.”
Le Bris had made three changes for the game with Dennis Cirkin, Tommy Watson and Wilson Isidor coming into the starting XI. Leo Hjelde, Alan Browne and Mundle all dropped to the bench.
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