Sunderland picked up a point on the road after a goalless draw with Coventry. That’s not a bad result in the end, away from home against last season’s play-off finalists.
Sunderland went into this game on a high after finally picking up a victory last weekend against Rotherham and hoping to build momentum.
While Sunderland had a shortage of strikers, Mark Robins had plenty to choose from including former Sunderland loanee Ellis Simms. The Sky Blues were looking to get back to winning ways after last week’s 1-1 draw to Swansea.
Starting 11: Anthony Patterson, Dan Ballard, Luke O’Nien, Trai Hume, Dennis Cirkin, Pierre Ekwah, Dan Neil, Jack Clarke, Bradley Dack, Abdoullah Ba, Jobe
Abdoullah Ba came into the side for the injured Patrick Roberts, and Elliot Embleton made his return to the bench after a lengthy injury.
The game started as you’d expect, very scrappy with no flow. Both teams had a few shots on goal, but nothing came of them.
As the game went on Coventry began to dominate, and we were getting overrun in midfield. The home team were putting balls into the box and the Lads were just about keeping them out.
Sunderland finally began to get up the pitch towards the end of the first half, but Coventry looked far more dangerous. Ellis Simms had a low effort saved by Anthony Patterson to bring the keeper into action for the first time.
The Sky Blues were the better side in the first half, but there wasn’t much in it. Both sides lacked that final ball. Pierre Ekwah and Kasey Palmer were going at it in midfield, and there were some crunching tackles. However, referee Keith Stroud was very lenient and let things play out.
The second half kicked off, but was quickly stopped after Jobe stepped on Kyle McFadzean foot. He received treatment and came back on.
Dan Neil then had a really good attempt on goal which forced a save out of keeper Ben Wilson, who then denied Cirkin on the rebound. Sunderland kept the ball well and began to look in control - Jack Clarke also had an effort deflected over the bar.
After that short spell of dominance, the game was very back and forth. Coventry had a few half chances, but nothing to trouble Patterson.
Abdoullah Ba messed up a potential opportunity when Jobe was in the centre, but he waited too long to make the pass. In tight games like these you need to take those opportunities.
Sunderland had a penalty shout when Dan Neil was sandwiched in between two defenders, but Stroud didn’t give it.
Simms came off the pitch for Haji Wright and will have to wait another week for his first league goal in Sky Blue, whilst Yasin Ayari made his Coventry debut when he came on for Kasey Palmer. Mowbray also made some changes: Ekwah, Dack, and Ba came off for Niall Huggins, Alex Pritchard, and Hemir.
The game remained end to end, but Patterson made a great save to deny Wright his second goal of the season. Pritchard was also looking lively, and was able to spin a few Coventry midfielders and put them on the back foot.
The Lads turned up the heat towards the end of the game, but struggled to find that finishing touch. McFadzean nearly scored an own goal, but Wilson was there to keep things level.
The game ended 0-0 and it was a fair result. Both sides lacked end product. I’d say that’s a better result for us than it is for them because we have such a poor record at their place.
ALS Man of the Match – Anthony Patterson: Patterson made some good saves today and he looked sturdy. I suppose Clarke had some good moments, but no one else really stood out to me.
