After such a swashbuckling run of form where Sunderland played some fantastic football under their new head coach Lee Johnson, the team had slowed down a bit at just the wrong time of the season. Away to Blackpool on this sunny Saturday in April, hopes were high for fans back in Wearside, with the games still being behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was Sunderland’s third game in a week and after defeats to Charlton Athletic and Wigan, a defeat here would almost put an end to Johnson’s
team’s hopes of getting an automatic spot.
In fairness to the away side, they put in a positive display, creating some really decent chances, with Aiden McGeady consistently the go-to man for the away side. In fact, it was McGeady who went closest when his shot from outside the box hit the post just around the hour mark.
This turned out to be the turning point in the game as minutes later, Blackpool took the lead with a little help from Lee Burge, who bundled the ball into his own net after Grant Leadbitter’s clearance went to Sulley Kaikai and he teed up Luke Garbutt. A deflection off Blackpool’s Ellis Simms saw the ball bobble beyond Burge.
This goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the away side, and whilst we created some half-decent chances through Luke O’ Nien and Jordan Jones near the end of the game, the team huffed and puffed without having the final punch.
In the aftermath, Johnson almost admitted defeat to the team’s automatic hopes with that being the third defeat in seven days. Ultimately, despite the progress made by Johnson over the last few months, injuries to key men and an inability to keep a clean sheet hampered their progress at a crucial point of the season.
It looks now that it is going to be extremely difficult to get into that top two, which is very disappointing after putting so much effort into getting there.
As it transpired, this poor run of form was only the beginning and although Sunderland would beat lowly Plymouth in their next game, the team sleepwalked into the play-offs where a 2-0 defeat away to Lincoln in the first leg would put too much for Johnson’s team to overcome in the second leg at the Stadium of Light.
