Sunderland frustrated by another slip-up at home

For the fifth time this season the Black Cats failed to win at home in League One; this time a team enduring the worst away form in the division left with a draw, meaning Jack Ross’ team have now missed out on ten points in games at the Stadium of Light.

If that is an issue that could set the alarm bells ringing in the months ahead if they continue to slip up in the chase of the top two, the second major concern is how often Sunderland have fallen behind too.

Shrewsbury Town became the fifth side this season to go ahead on Wearside, Ross can just be thankful for constructing a squad spirit capable of battling back to prevent defeat and preserve a run that has now stretched to 12 games without a loss in the league at the Stadium of Light.

Ross wants his team to be better than that. It was always his intention to have Sunderland in and around the top two at this stage, with the hope of then improving to finish off the promotion job.

And with leaders Portsmouth sitting seven points above Sunderland, the regular slip ups in front of their own fans cannot continue if winning League One is to be achieved by May – and a play-off tussle avoided.

Ross said: “We have to be careful we don’t get dramatic about things here, we have disappointed in the opening games. The one thing we face here is teams play in different manners.

“They see a certain result positive, nothing wrong with that. Second half was a perfect example of that. We are unbeaten at home, we have scored in every league game, and points wise we are giving ourselves a chance.

“But we can’t replicate the number of draws in the remaining home games, that is something we are aware of.”

It was always going to be a challenge for Sunderland this season to face different opponents, with a new-look squad of players put together by Ross all sharing a desire to go straight up.

Ross has always been quick to highlight how opponents head to the Stadium of Light with different approaches, almost because they see it as a free hit and a rare opportunity for some third tier players to play on a big stage – and in front of 30,000-plus crowds.

Shrewsbury certainly came with the mindset to annoy, waste time, counter attack and it almost got them more than a point when Jack Baldwin came close to scoring an own goal late on.

Centre-back Baldwin said: “Teams are always going to come here and try to be as hard to beat as they possibly can, try to frustrate. We’ve got to recognise that.

“We’re going to get a lot of the ball at times, us boys at the back, we’ve got to try and not, personally I get too frustrated when nothing is opening up. I find it hard to go side to side, I try to make something happen.

“I’ve got to get better at that, maybe as teams we need to get better and find other ways around it. We’ve got a squad of players, if you get them the ball they’ll make things happen.”

Shrewsbury took the lead on half an hour when Luke Waterfall rose in between Baldwin and Tom Flanagan to glance Greg Docherty’s free-kick inside Jon McLaughlin’s right hand post.

There could have been few complaints from the Sunderland end, after a disappointing opening spell when they didn’t look comfortable on the ball and almost looked shocked to be put on the back foot initially.

After that opener Sunderland did improve and it took a little bit of quality from Bryan Oviedo down the left to draw them level.

The Costa Rican, who had to be replaced in the second half with a back problem, got beyond his man and delivered a stunning cross into the six-yard box for Josh Maja to arrive on cue and nod in his 14th goal of the season.

Once again Sunderland had shown they have the character running through the squad to avoid defeat, illustrating why they have only suffered two reversals in the league this season; none at home.

Baldwin said: “We all know the first half was far, far from good enough. The second half was better but we didn’t quite have that cutting edge in front of goal. It was a sloppy goal to concede.

“I’m personally very frustrated with myself. We’ve come from behind again and shown character, I thought we deserved a couple of goals in the second half.

“I’ve never really had a full season, I’ve always been a bit hampered by injuries that keep you out for two weeks here or there. This season, touch wood, it’s not happened and I feel like I’ve still got a lot of games left in my legs, so I wouldn’t say it’s tiredness.”

Sunderland’s below-par showing arrived just a few days after a record crowd in excess of 46,000 watched them beat Bradford; but this latest frustration at home means they have lost ground on Portsmouth once more going into the New Year’s Day trip to Blackpool.

Baldwin said: “In the bigger picture, looking to get that promotion, we’re still on that two points a game average. We’ve got to dust ourselves down because we’re back to business in a few days.

“It’s going to be a massive game and we’ll have a huge following again. Credit to the club and fans and hopefully we’ll put on a good display.”

And at least Sunderland will head to Bloomfield Road having not lost, which could easily have been the case against Shrewsbury. Despite the fact the Shrews had won just once away in 16 matches, Sam Ricketts’ side actually had the better chances even if the hosts saw more of the ball.

Josh Laurent fired a glaring chance over after Alex Gilliead had got round Baldwin, while the latter also forced McLaughlin into a brilliant late save when he almost turned a cross into his own net from close range.

Sunderland, who saw Flanagan waste a good first half opportunity, did have a late flurry when Duncan Watmore’s cross was cleared over the bar from just off the line by Mat Sadler, but a draw was probably the fairest outcome.

It didn’t stop Baldwin from having a go at himself, he said: “You’ve got to find a balance but I will be critical of myself because I want to be the best I can be for myself and for this club. If you don’t turn out a great performance for this club then it’s frustrating.”