After a big cup shock last weekend and a visit to ‘the Hosts’ on the horizon, it could’ve been easy to overlook this game against Brighton and Hove Albion, yet this was an important test, with the Seagulls being one of the clubs Sunderland are trying to emulate through sensible recruitment.
With relegation already out of the question for 2025/2026, the signs are very positive on that front and the hope is that long term Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and company will be aiming to go even further than that, eventually
eclipsing the progress of smart-thinking outfits like Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford.
However, if the performance on Saturday afternoon is used in isolation as a yardstick, there’s still a lot of catching up to do, for on this evidence, Sunderland are lacking in certain areas of their game.
On the face of it, losing 0-1 to a Premier League mainstay shouldn’t be too disheartening, but there felt more to it than that.
Brighton were livelier and smarter than Sunderland and maybe could’ve pushed for more goals should they have wished; indeed, they certainly started more strongly and were close to getting themselves comfortably ahead in the first few minutes, and whilst the Lads did attempt to create some openings for themselves, they weren’t as streamlined in their work.
The game could’ve ended differently had Chris Rigg’s goal stood and the Black Cats been able to dictate the tempo a bit more, yet their inability to muster anything resembling a spell of pressure once behind was the real difference.
Brighton’s winner — a curious goal that like last Sunday at Vale Park — came via the unnecessary concession of a corner, should have been the signal for a wild thirty minutes-plus barrage from Régis Le Bris’ side but in reality prompted virtually nothing, with the Seagulls very calmly and very cleverly being able let minute after minute drift by without coming under threat.
The home fans left the Stadium of Light feeling utterly deflated.
Defeat would’ve been easier to take were it not for the feeling that Bart Verbruggen could’ve at points joined them in the stands to watch the action — or the sense that one or two in red and white were just going through the motions.
Whilst Rigg gave one of his best performances of the season, several others were short of their previous levels, and as a unit the team didn’t display the usual energy and bite, adding to those misgivings as people filed out.
For all of the head-shaking and bemusement at an off-colour outing, there’s of one massive caveat that shouldn’t be ignored amongst all of this.
Dan Ballard’s second half withdrawal and the hobbling continuation of at least one of his teammates couldn’t have come at a worse time. Injuries are having a massive impact on the squad right now, and the injury list seems to be growing all the time.
Enzo Le Fée’s surprise injury-forced omission was the latest in the long line of keenly-felt absences and the raft of senior figures either sidelined or lacking sharpness is taking its toll.
So much of what has made Sunderland good this season is impossible currently due to missing parts, and until that’s no longer the case, it’s hard to make a fair assessment of exactly where the club currently is.
